March 27, 2005
Iraq: Year 2 - Part IV
A little over two years ago, I had not discovered blogs and hung out on the comment pages of the Washington Post. With all the lefties there for me to argue with, I must have been a real glutton for punishment.
But, I digress; looking up a poem I had written last year, I came across a bet from a European lefty type that she had sent in response to one of my pro-invasion posts. I'll reproduce her exact posting; I left the spelling, grammar and punctuation as it was and please understand, she is European so any deriding comments won't be appreciated and you can bet that most American's couldn't do as well in her native language (German).
At any rate, she said: "i offer a bet to you: within the next three months you will be at war either with syria or iran or korea. within the next three months there will be a revolutionary uprise either in egypt or in pakistan or in saudi arabia. within the next three months your casualties of war will be so high that congress will stop any further military expansion. we´ll meet again in three months to see what has happened."
Well, its been something like 25 months. I wonder what I won? These were the same or similar comments that most of the liberal/leftist/progressive/anti-American European pundits (and not a few of our own) were saying. Only now after an election and indications that the "insurgents" are looking for an exit strategy are many of those same people saying "Glad things are going OK."
You know what though? They have yet to admit that they were totally wrong, that millions didn't starve in a harsh winter in Afghanistan, that Iraq didn't unleash WMD's on our troops (you know, the ones that Saddam didn't have) that Afghans and Iraqis are capable of wanting and using democratic principles and that the vaunted "Arab Street" seems more inclined to demand democracy for themselves.
Interesting what a few months can do. (do you suppose my bettor is shipping me a Mercedes?)
Posted by GM Roper at March 27, 2005 09:19 PM | TrackBackGood luck getting anything, Honor is the first thing they throw out when they become a lefty.
Posted by Michael at March 28, 2005 12:23 AM
Yes GM, I wouldn't be surprised if your Mercedes is on its way. I also wouldn't be surprised if you would have to reduce your size on a 1:50 scale to fit in it.
Like you, I have read many posts from leftist anti-war types (Daniel Schorr, The Guardian) who are essentially saying "Perhaps shrub's plan is working after all - who woulda thunk it?". Personally I choose not to gloat because:
a. that is not my style and I hate when people gloat at me when I'm proven wrong;
b. it is still too early to declare victory.
While these folks are to be lauded for admitting the reality of the current situation I would point out that they are some of the same folks who were harping and chastising President Bush after that press conference in which he refused to admit he was wrong (about anthing, dammit!). Allowing for items a & b above, I do find a bit of an inconsistency in their failure to say simply: "Wow, looks like I was wrong on this one.".
But a questions remains - have you emailed that German woman to figure out the status of your bet and the exact nature of your prize?
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Actually TMS, I copied the bet and saved it on Word. Then promptly forgot about it. I have no Idea what the woman's e-mail address is otherwise I'd check it out. Though I suspect the 1:50 size Mercedes is a gross exaggeration of what I might get if I made demands. ;-)
Posted by too many steves at March 28, 2005 07:41 AM
Are we amazed at the number of military experts and wizards in foreign affairs that abound? I surely am. Where or where did they get their expertise? I suspect that they have degrees from NitWit U. None, I suspect, could tell the the difference between a Dumpster and an Abrams tank...none know who Abrams was. They would think a BLT is a sandwich and LSD stands for the late Dr. Tim Leary thought was a good idea to ingest. While "book learning" is very, very valuable (I would cite Sir John Keegan as just one example), not many can truly understand what cold is if they've never been in the cold.
Posted by tad at March 28, 2005 07:58 AM
http://www.military.com/Opinions/0,,Galloway_031005,00.html
a reality check...
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This Joe Galloway: "There may be 50 ways to leave your lover, but there may be only one good way out of the deepening disaster that is Iraq: Hold the elections on Jan. 30, declare victory and begin leaving.
Anything less, any more "staying the course," and we're likely doomed to an even bloodier and more costly defeat in a country divided along ethnic and religious fault lines and headed toward civil war."
Other headlines indicate the "insurgents" are looking for an exit strategy, Zarquai is being beset on by some of his own folk, Egyptian Mullah declare fatwa against Al Qaida... etc., etc.
More Galloway: "Why can't we win? Because we charged in with false premises and bogus assumptions. Because for every insurgent we kill, two or three more join the cause."
Again, I'll point to the headlines above.
This must be a different Galloway: "The American soldiers, 120,000 of them, are doing their usual great job in a bad place. They are upbeat and, by every account, morale is good. Gone are the 130-degree days of July and August,"
Which Galloway is this one? "The foreign terrorists and jihadists, the die-hard Baathist Sunnis who yearn for the bad old days, and the fringe Shiites who dream of a nation governed by religion and run by ayatollahs would all take Iraq backward into a dark night of murder, repression and torture.
People of reason and hope will be going to the polls across much of Iraq today and casting their votes against both a dark past and a darker future."
Reality Check? Right!!!!! But thanks for commenting Reg.
GMR
Posted by reg at March 29, 2005 10:19 PM
