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Title: Neocons’ New Lie
Source:
SALON
URL Source: http://www.salon.com/2012/04/25/neocons_new_lie/singleton/
Published: Apr 26, 2012
Author: Jordan Michael Smith
Post Date: 2012-04-26 18:06:37 by Brian S
Keywords: None
Views: 1016
Comments: 1
The rulebook for conservative punditry is straightforward. Push for a policy. When it turns into a disaster, defend it. When the defense becomes untenable, ignore it. Finally, when something unrelated but positive occurs, take credit for it. The newest conservative myth is that the upheavals in the Middle East — called the Arab Spring but occurring too in non-Arab countries like Iran — are a result of the Iraq War. The “freedom” that George W. Bush brought to Iraq had a domino effect on other countries in the region, the argument goes. Neocon Robert Kagan told Salon recently that “there were repeated free elections in Iraq and that undoubtedly had some effect on how neighboring people views their government.” Said Kagan: “I think Egyptians said. ‘If the Iraqis can have elections, why can’t we have elections?’” Kagan wasn’t the first to make this argument. Bush’s deputy national security advisor Elliott Abrams wrote in January 2011 that “the revolt in Tunisia, the gigantic wave of demonstrations in Egypt and the more recent marches in Yemen all make clear that Bush had it right.” Bush speechwriter Peter Wehner claimed “vindication for Bush’s freedom agenda” when the uprising began. Even Dick Cheney said that “I think that what happened in Iraq, the fact that we brought democracy, if you will, and freedom to Iraq, has had a ripple effect on some of those other countries.” Few things could be more condescending than the argument that Middle Easterners had never thought of freedom or democracy before George W. Bush began speaking about it. Countries from Algeria to Iran had held elections or saw large-scale protests long before any former Texas governor illegally invaded Iraq. But the idea that the Iraq War had a galvanizing effect on the freedom movements under way in the Middle East is best refuted by simply listening to the movements’ leaders. Those individuals leading the protests from Iran in 2009 to Syria in 2012 are unanimous: the Iraq War hurt, not helped, the cause of democracy in the Middle East. By unleashing anarchy and a civil war that caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis, the invasion in 2003 actually discredited democracy, if anything. Here is leading Iranian dissident Akbar Ganji: “Since Iranians, in particular opposition groups, do not want to see a repeat of Afghanistan or Iraq in Iran, they’ve actually had to scale back their opposition to the government … The belligerent rhetoric of Bush didn’t help us [the Iranian democracy movement], it actually harmed us during that period.” In fact, what helped facilitate the large-scale protests in 2009 was the Obama administration’s engagement with Iran. According to Ganji, “the mere fact that Obama didn’t make military threats made the Green Movement possible.” Or consider Wael Ghonim, who helped foment the Egyptian revolution and was imprisoned for his deeds. Asked if the cause of Egyptian self-determination was helped by the Iraq War, he was succinct: “Not at all.” He continued: “The war in Iraq killed so many innocent people, and it’s not something that any civilized nation should be proud of.” His thoughts on revolution represent the views of almost all Middle Easterners: “People who live in a country are the ones to decide their destiny because they are the ones who eventually pay the price for whatever choices they make.” Leadership aside, it is clear that few people in the region take seriously the claim that the Iraq War sparked a wave of inspiration, for the simple reason that they see the war as a disaster for the Iraq people. A November 2011 conducted by Zogby found that most people in Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates believed that Iraq was worse off as a result of the American invasion. Even most Iraqis — those who are said to have received the blessing of democracy — agreed that their country was worse off as a result of the war. If those in the Middle East believe the American-led war was a calamity for Iraqis, it is hard to believe they would think it was a model to be emulated in their own respective countries. Of course, none of this will change the mind of those desperate to retrospectively justify the Iraq invasion. If an Arab Spring had broken out in 2050 instead of 2011, some student of a current neoconservative would have claimed Iraq was the spark the caused the fire. That fallacy may be pleasing for Bush’s intellectuals and policymakers unable to face the consequences of their decision to push for war in Iraq, but those in the region are under no such delusion. Nobody else should be either.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
Holy crap, you just summarized the last 19 years of DC politics... INCLUDING oBungler. I googled the following terms: obama blame list. Results? How 'bout 5,010,000 results (0.36 seconds)! Now, that doesn't mean I let "Herr Dumbass" off the hook... he's was as much of a jerk-off as oBungler, but a bit more stupid. No sense going into his record, as he's been gone three years, and "Bubba" has been out for eleven. Let's look at another aspect: googling obama takes credit list, the results are About 16,300,000 results (0.25 seconds)! Some items that he took credit for are the Keystone Pipeline, Solyndra, oil fracking, Michigan auto manufacturer rebound, Osama bin Laden, the Boeing sales to Indonesia, the death of Ghaddafiy (sp?), the "success" of the Iraq war, etc. Need I go on? Basically, your article is SHIT. I expected nothing less from you.
To: mcToejam, rat-boy, drippy, Alzheimer Fred, whitesands, t-bird, The rulebook for conservative punditry is straightforward. Push for a policy. When it turns into a disaster, defend it. When the defense becomes untenable, ignore it. Finally, when something unrelated but positive occurs, take credit for it.
•Obama Blames Arab Spring and Japan’s Earthquake on Struggling Economy and Job Situation, August 5th, 2011.
•Obama Blames Messy Democracy for His Failed Policies, August 3rd, 2011; remarks by the president at a DNC event.
•Obama Blames Congress for US Debt Mess; Obama news conference, June 29th, 2011.
•Obama Blames Republicans for Slow Pace on Immigration Reform, July 25th, 2011.
•Obama Blames Media for Lack of Compromise in Washington; remarks by Obama at a town hall meeting July 22nd, 2011.
•Obama Blames Technology for Struggling Economy; June 14th, 2011, NBC Today interview.
•Obama Blames Oil Spectators for High Oil Prices; April 19th, 2011, remarks by Obama at a town hall meeting.
•Obama Blames Reagan for America’s Out of Control Debt and Spending; remarks by President Obama April 13th, 2011, Federal News Service.
•Obama Blames Bush and Congress for Lack of Fiscal Discipline, April 13th, 2011; remarks by Obama, Federal News Service.
•Obama Blames Bush-Congress for Putting Off Tough Decisions, August 17th, 2010; remarks at a fundraiser for Patty Murray.
•Obama Blames Bush for Tax Cuts, Deficits; Obama town hall meeting on the economy in Racine, Wisconsin, June 30th, 2010.
•Obama Blames Bush for Deficits, June 8th, 2010; remarks by Obama at a second fundraising reception for Senator Barbara Boxer.
•Obama Blames GOP for Events that Led to Gulf Oil Spill; remarks by President Obama June 3rd, 2010, Federal News Service.
•Obama Blames Republicans for America Not Being Able to Solve Problems; remarks by President Obama June 3rd, 2010, Federal News Service.
•Obama Blames Corporations for Everybody’s Problems, June 3rd, 2010, Federal News Service. He said, “If you’re a Wall Street Journal bank or an insurance company or oil company, you pretty much get to play by your own rules regardless of the consequences for everybody else.”
•Obama Blames Bush for Overall Standing of American Economy, April 19th, 2010, at a fundraising reception for Senator Boxer.
•Obama Blames Bush, Congress for Deficits, February 1, 2010, delivering remarks on the budget.
•Obama Blames Bush for Regulatory Policies; January 17th, 2010, remarks by the president at an event with attorney general Martha Coakley in Massachusetts.
•Obama Blames Bush for Overall Standing of Economy and American Standing, April 19th of 2010. Obama delivering remarks at a fundraising reception for Senator Boxer and the DNC.
•Obama Blames Bush and Congress for Deficits, February 1st, 2010, in remarks delivered on the budget.
•Obama Blames Bush for Regulatory Policies, January 17th, 2010, remarks by the president at an event with Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
•Obama Blames Wall Street Fat Cats for Economic Disaster, December 13th, 2009, CBS News’ 60 Minutes.
•Obama Blames Bush for Overall Economy, September 27th, 2009, remarks by the president at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual dinner.
•Obama Blames Bush for Stifling Unions, September 7th, 2009; remarks by the president at the AFL-CIO Labor Day picnic.
•Obama Blames Bush for Prescription Drug Bill; remarks by the president, health insurance reform town hall, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, August 11th, 2009.
•Obama Blames Bush for Jobs, July 22nd, 2009; news conferences by the president.
•Obama Blames Bush for Failure to Recognize Europe’s Leading Role in the World, April 3rd, 2009; remarks by President Obama at a Strasbourg [France] town hall, and in those remarks he said this: “So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years we’ve allowed our alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there’s something more that has crept into our relationship.” “In America there’s a failure to appreciate Europe’s leading role in the world, instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive of you.” That’s Barack Obama, speaking in Europe at Strasbourg, blaming Bush for a failure to recognize Europe’s leading role in the world, April 3rd, 2009.
•Obama Blames Bush for Deficits, February 23rd, 2009; Obama delivering opening remarks at fiscal responsibility summit.
•Candidate Obama Blames Fox News for his Elitist Label, New York Times, October 2008.
•Candidate Obama Blames Fox News for Likely Loss in Kentucky Primary, May 2008.
•Candidate Obama Blames Washington for High Gas Prices, April 25th, 2008; remarks of Senator Barack Obama, press availability on energy plan, 25 April 2008.
The economy is wonderful!
Re-elect Obama, he'll pay your rent!
A chicken in every pot!
-- Baghdad Bri-bri -- loonymom, ming, e-type jackoff, goober56, wreck, cal-CON, rabid dog, dummy DwarF, biff, harrowup the communist, and meguro. You're on the "a waste of human flesh" list. Brian S[ocialist], you're a propagandist moron. ALL of you can piss off.
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