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November 21, 2005
On Iraq, Kagan & Kristol Get Getting It Right Wrong
Robert Kagan and Bill Kristol, writing in the Weekly Standard, deploy a set of facts to refute Murtha but, unfortunate as it is, refute themselves instead.
Murtha, of course, claims that the U.S. occupation is the primary problem in Iraq and that "our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency. They are united against U.S. forces, and we have become a catalyst for violence." This is nonsense. For many months now, the insurgents have been shifting their attacks away from U.S. and coalition forces and directing them at Iraqis instead. Iraqis now make up the overwhelming majority of casualties resulting from insurgent attacks. This shift is evidence not only of the effectiveness of our protective measures, but also of the growing vitality of the Iraqi political process, which the insurgents, according to their own statements, fear and hate more than the U.S. military presence.
As one can guess, the emphasis was not Kagan and Kristol's. A belief that our success in protecting Iraqis is measured by how many of them have been blown up instead of American soldiers is not just analytically oxymoronic but a backhanded compliment stunning in its sheer moral autism. More...
Posted by James G. Poulos at November 21, 2005 04:31 PM
