Politics
Out of context: Reply #5314
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- TheBlueOne0
Here's an example of how the Right Think Tank Machine works.
First, let em ask you all a question - And answer this question honestly - was Iraq truly a victory? If so, or not, by what metrics? Do you think their are forces at work in Iraq - social, tribal, etc. that will eventually tear the place apart whether US troops are their or not?
(My answer - Iraq was a "victory" only so far as it ousted Saddam Hussein. As far as "bringing peace, democracy and stability" to it I would say it was a general and complete failure. This leaves alone the entire question of the justifications/costs of the war in the first place. The very fact there was no true stated metric of victory other than "bringing them freedom". I believe, and I think the facts support, the internal fault lines of the country that have been barely held together by the threat of violence from the US forces - but this does not make for a stable society.)
Now, check how the Right spin this here:
http://www.weeklystandard.com/we…
It argues that Obama has "inherited victory" in Iraq and that victory is his to lose, and is in turn Bush's crowning achievment.
Seriously. "Inherited victory"? Is that an accurate mapping of reality? Or is saying Obama has inherited a patchwork and tenuous lull in violence in an unstable situation more closer to the facts? Would anyone in their right mind call what the US military achieved in Iraq a "victory" taken in toto - other than their stellar performance in the early stages of the war based on pure military metrics?
But this is the moment for which conservatives have been preparing for the last year and a half: sustaining the illusion of "victory" just long enough to be able to blame Democrats for "losing Iraq" when things go wrong.
Once again the Right don't argue what the facts on the ground actually are, but rather get into a pissing context over parsing "victory" when their very own flag carriers could never in concrete terms say what a victory in Iraq would actually mean outside of vague generalities.