Elections, Iraq, and Neocon Drivel

In a new article in the Chicago Tribune, Dennis Byrne touts the success of Iraqis in their new democratic state, and expresses frustration with the anti-war crowd for what he perceives as blind pessimism regarding all things Iraqi and democratic (link here).

In response to the bountiful voting anomalies, dead people voting, and alleged ballot-box stuffing in Iraq's past elections, Byrne responds by claiming that Chicago's elections are extremely crooked as well, so... it doesn't matter. Of course this type of absurd argument is nothing new to punditry, where the infamous Tom DeLay is defended with the argument that "the Democrats are crooked too". Byrne also derides those who begrudge Iraqis "tasting freedom for the first time" as if casting a ballot in some way undoes the terrifying climate of violence and insecurity in Iraq.

The inflated rhetoric of Bush apologists across America is growing increasingly tiresome, as inconsequential elections and the rushed drafting of a crippled constitution are touted as some ultimate triumph of freedom. No one worries about the fact that Iraq's constitution lacks any real limitation on the power of the new government, nor is it of concern to Republicans that the structure of the constitution makes civil war exceedingly likely. Lost in the fantastical and epic claims found in the pages of the Weekly Standard, the National Review, and other neocon strongholds, one can almost forget that Iraq is an occupied country consumed by war, poverty, ethnic divisions and religious power struggles. If there truly is freedom in Iraq, it is well hidden under the bodies of countless innocent civilians and obscured by the smoke and rubble of countless destroyed homes and businesses.

Byrne finishes his article with a tongue-in-cheek assurance that he isn't calling those opposed to the war "unpatriotic", but then claims that their position is "mistaken and an unconscionable betrayal". It is unclear what writers (to use the term lightly) like Byrne would resort to if deprived of their meaningless, masturbatory talk of "patriotism", "treason" and the like. Such pathetic arguments merely betray the fact that very little is going well in Iraq, and that what is arguably going well (the elections, the constitution) does very little to better the lot of Iraqis or lessen the horror of life in the Iraq.

Sadly, Byrne's article is very much representative of the sort of ultra-idealistic drivel that is churned out by the desperate apologists of this horrible war. In the face of the obvious failure that is the Iraq war, it becomes necessary for these writers to irrationally equate weak, fledgling democracy with freedom and security.

Furthermore, it is certainly a sad state of affairs when many of the more realistic Bush supporters have resorted to a "you broke it, you buy it" argument -- that the breeding ground for insurgents, lunatics, and suicide bombers we have created in Iraq is now our responsibility. It never seems to occur to them that maybe the entire idea was a bad idea, and that fanning the flames will not make anything better. Just because Bush set Iraq aflame doesn't mean we have to keep pouring gasoline on the fire. Of course things won't necessarily get any better if we stop making things worse (by pulling out), but our pride is doing nothing more than digging deeper graves and filling them with innocent Iraqis and American troops.

There isn't always a clear, happy ending to war, and it is long past time for Bush and his supporters to realize that they made a mistake with real, terrible consequences. In all likelyhood, Iraq will be worse off when we leave than it was when we got there, but there is every indication that there is little or nothing we can do to change that. What we can do, however, is stop making the wound bigger, and let the people of Iraq start trying to heal themselves. The lesson of this war, which we should have learned in Vietnam, is that America is not invincible or omnipotent, and that you cannot always make up for bad decisions. Some might consider this pessimistic, but the sad truth of this debacle is that pessimism will save more lives in this case than optimism.