Pundit Regrets Supporting Iraq War Run Up

[wulfie68]

washingtonpost.com

I found this link through a friend and thought it was an interesting read. Before the nitpickers come out, it is NOT news reporting, it is op-ed but I think it could be a starting point for some reconciliation between some pretty polarized stances. I was never a big supporter of the US's invasion of Iraq (from my lofty perspective of my house in South Calgary when it happened or from my equally lofty perch 20 miles SE of Pittsburgh now) but at one time I believed that Canada should stand with the US on it, for a couple reasons (but thats a whole other discussion).

Part of me is wondering is Matt Miller for real in this piece or is he pandering to the fact that a large majority of Americans think Iraq was a mistake? The thoughts he voices are convincing but so was a lot of the pre-war posturing...

 

[gopher]

He says Bush did not deliberately mislead the public. That kills his limited credibility.

 

[dumpthemonarchy]

FROM THE ARTICLE:
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Bob Rubin spoke often about what he called "probabilistic reasoning." You do the best you can to assign rough probabilities to the complex scenarios you face, he said, and to the likely outcomes of decisions -- and then make your call as best you can.

Still, I'm torn. I can't help thinking that, 100 years from now, America's readiness to send its brave youth half a world away to topple a heinous dictator and then flush him out of a hole will be seen as noble. And not just about oil. For better or worse, I lack the moral clarity and strategic certainty of the war's ardent supporters or foes.

Instead, in retrospect, invading Iraq strikes me as a bad decision that the United States has had no choice but to make the best of.
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DTM:
When I read "probabilistic reasoning" I thought, he like most Americans was just caught up in all the frenzy. The USA is at war-due to 9/11, you support the president and hope for the best.

The Iraq war is where the USA media lost credibility. Because there were no WMD. The issue is digital as they might say, you got the bomb or you don't got the bomb. Yes or no. Easy peasy. No probabilities required here. Show me the money. Shooting a gun on TV does not qualify.

He's a typical wonk who knows too much about too few topics. An occupational hazard in this part of the world.