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December 01, 2005

The Politics Of Victory

Reading the New York Times' unhinged reaction to Bush's speech reminded me once again that there are many "Americans" who would rather see Al Qaeda win than a Republican President.

I'll just keep quoting Gary Kamiya, writing in Salon after the Fall of Baghdad:

I have a confession: I have at times, as the war has unfolded, secretly wished for things to go wrong. Wished for the Iraqis to be more nationalistic, to resist longer. Wished for the Arab world to rise up in rage. Wished for all the things we feared would happen. I'm not alone: A number of serious, intelligent, morally sensitive people who oppose the war have told me they have had identical feelings.

Seems like he got his wish. Is he happier now?

Some of this is merely the result of pettiness--ignoble resentment, partisan hackdom, the desire to be proved right and to prove the likes of Rumsfeld wrong, irritation with the sanitizing, myth-making American media. That part of it I feel guilty about, and disavow. But some of it is something trickier: It's a kind of moral bet-hedging, based on a pessimism not easy to discount, in which one's head and one's heart are at odds.
Many antiwar commentators have argued that once the war started, even those who oppose it must now wish for the quickest, least-bloody victory followed by the maximum possible liberation of the Iraqi people. But there is one argument against this: What if you are convinced that an easy victory will ultimately result in a larger moral negative--four more years of Bush, for example, with attendant disastrous policies, or the betrayal of the Palestinians to eternal occupation, or more imperialist meddling in the Middle East or elsewhere?

Wishing for things to go wrong is the logical corollary of the postulate that the better things go for Bush, the worse they will go for America and the rest of the world.

The Democratic Party and the New York Times (and the whole of the MSM) have a vested political interest in American defeat. They want America to lose. If America loses, Bush loses. If America loses, the Republicans lose. If America loses, the media and the Democratic Party wins. The Democrats take Congress and perhaps the Presidency, the media regains (it thinks) its supposed old reputation as an objective truth teller and National Repository of Wisdom In All Matters.

It's quite true that Bush and the Republicans have a vested political interest in the outcome of this war, too. As has been said too many times to easily count, Bush's Presidency depends on victory. If he wins in Iraq, he will be a successful president; if he is defeated, he will be a debacle.

While there's a selfish interest there, it can't help be noticed that Bush's selfish interest happens to coincide with the national interest. Whereas the Democrats' selfish interest is directly contrary to it.

I simply cannot trust a party or media which has such a powerful interest in American defeat and humiliation. After Bush's speech, liberal media and the Democratic Party have, shockingly enough, joined forces to advance the argument that Bush is too "blinded" by unrealistic dreams of American victory to see the "realities" in Iraq.

Can the Democratic Party and mainstream media not examine themselves to see if they are similarly too blinded by unrealistic dreams of American defeat to objectively judge the situation?

Does Al Qaeda in Iraq engage in actual military actions against US troops?

Are successful attacks against US troops up or down?

Is there a strong possibility that Al Qaeda will gain in strength at this point?

Is there any real hope that Al Qaeda and the Ba'athist revanchists will actually reconquer the country, either with or without a strong American presence there?

On that last point, the answer is clearly "No." The "insurgency" is not a popular one in the sense that we are fighting the majority of the population, and imposing a government on the majority which they do not want. The insurgency is a minority of a minority -- a number of committed murderers who hope to bring back a small unpopular minority ethnic group into power against the wishes of the Shi'as and Kurds -- and has no realistic hope of ever attaining a military or political victory.

They can kill, but they can't capture power.

That doesn't mean, however, that we should abandon Iraq now, or that it is safe to do so. Al Qaeda can't actually win, but they can be defeated. And it's important to do so -- not only does this deny them a powerful psychological victory, it gives us a working, pluralistic, democratic Arab state friendly to our interests.

Does anyone in the Democratic Party or MSM actually think that if we withdraw from Iraq, all of those terrorists will go back to herding goats?

Of course not. They will have carved out safe haven in Sunni areas of Iraq and will have a base of operations to freely plan and execute further attacks against America.

The Democratic Party and MSM cannot be allowed to prevail. Ultimately, though they don't admit to themselves as Gary Kamiya did, they seek a victory for Al Qaeda, for they have, by their own conscious choice, aligned their interests with the terrorists'.

posted by Ace at 11:43 AM

Comments

"Can the Democratic Party and mainstream media not examine themselves to see if they are similarly too blinded by hopes of American defeat to objectively judge the situation?"

Surely you jest.

Posted by: Redhand on December 1, 2005 11:46 AM

Really, I thought it was a serious post until you threw in teh funnay at the end.

Posted by: Dave in Texas on December 1, 2005 11:58 AM

Go back and read the final line of that first quote:

A number of serious, intelligent, morally sensitive people who oppose the war have told me they have had identical feelings.

People who can write stuff like that and not mean it in a completely over-the-top, Paul Lynde-sarcastic kind of way... Well, let's just say self-examiniation isn't exactly their forte.

Posted by: utron on December 1, 2005 12:01 PM

Part of the MSM pro-Bush bias is evident as they are steadfastly refusing to fix the blame on him and his fat-cat corporate allies for creating an imaginary XBOX360 shortage.

Since Bush takes order from the Jews, and the Saudis, its obvious that Saudi money is blinding Bush apologists from mentioning the money Jew-friendly Microsoft is making from all the ebay sales of X360's. Sometimes at over 300% of retail. Bill Gates, a prominent Jew/Saudi American Prince (JSAP for short) is pulling off the greatest crime since the Jews used prohibition to tarnish the Italians image.

Its so obvious, yet noone talks about it!!!!

Oh, and we are about to lose the war in Iraq. Spin that, bitches.

Posted by: joeindc44 on December 1, 2005 12:06 PM

utron, another symptom of the disorder is found at the end of the article:

But after watching the president, we couldn't resist reading Richard Nixon's 1969 Vietnamization speech.

We tried with all our might not to read it. No luck.

Posted by: Dave in Texas on December 1, 2005 12:08 PM

A number of serious, intelligent, morally sensitive people who oppose the war have told me they have had identical feelings.

A number of serious, intelligent, morally sensitive people also believe in alien abduction, the theory of Atlantis, "Crystal Power", Dianetics, and many other figurative pant-loads. And I love that thing about feelings -- to so many on the Left, it's about how you feel. Their aching hearts will heal the wounds of the world!

Bunch of goddam whiny crybaby namby-pamby jello-heads. This is what drives me insane about the political situation: I'm deeply exercised about our so-called Republican Party, but what's my alternative? A whiny "everything is our fault" Democrat Party? Please.

Posted by: Monty on December 1, 2005 12:09 PM

For those of you who have read the Tao of Homer, there is one fella who laments the anti-intellectualism of Americans. Why, he moans, do US dunderheads not listen to their betters. Well, the answer to that question is "because you intellectuals aren't too smart." You can spot an intellectual as the person who holds the worst ideas.

And as everyone else is pointing out that "A number of serious, intelligent, morally sensitive people who" "secretly wished for things to go wrong ... for the Iraqis to be more nationalistic ... to resist longer...for the Arab world to rise up in rage ... [and] for all the things we feared would happen." Such a person is not serious. not moral. and not intelligent.

But since 70% of Americans know that the DNC is downplaying the war purely for political reasons, its not likely to work.

70%. lalalala. 70% nanahahanah 70%
!!!!!!!

Posted by: joeindc44 on December 1, 2005 12:16 PM

I read this in our local "alternative" paper over lunch yesterday:

http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/dispatch/2005-11-25/cols_pagetwo.html

I want to drive to this guys house and hand him an award I made out of typing paper, glue, sparkles and macaroni that says "Best Policy Analysis Evar." Then take a dump in his yardand wipe my ass with his cat.

Posted by: tachyonshuggy on December 1, 2005 12:19 PM

the MSM and Left are our enemies too

Posted by: None Dare Call it Treason on December 1, 2005 12:45 PM

Ace, dunno if you care, but I had a similar posting today on this topic, making similar points.

As usual, you beat me by, like, 20 minutes. F'ing jerk.

Cheers,
Dave at Garfield Ridge

Posted by: Dave at Garfield Ridge on December 1, 2005 12:55 PM

Dave,

Your post is old.

Posted by: ace on December 1, 2005 01:03 PM

Excellent post. Thanks

Can we now please switch from msm to 'Big Media Quislings"?

Because that's what they are - they accept all of the benefits of living in the US, but they hate America so much that they don't care who the enemy is - they want the US to lose.

Posted by: max on December 1, 2005 01:49 PM

Excrable on the Imus Show this morning. Imus talking with The Donald says we should just apologize to Saddam and re-instate him as Iraq's president. The Donald laughs and agrees that we'll never win. He had a friend--who was there in Iraq!--who told him so!

If you get a chance to either read a transcript or listen to the audio, it will turn your stomach. Two morons.

Posted by: OregonGuy on December 1, 2005 01:51 PM

Let's get down to business:

Will Sleeper Cell be any good? Should I get showtime? Or will the "bad guys" be sponsored by enron?

Anyone have an xbox360 for sale?

Posted by: joeindc44 on December 1, 2005 01:56 PM

Imus. Ha.

The man's show is broadcast on MSNBC.

Enough said.

Posted by: Edward R. Murrow on December 1, 2005 02:01 PM

Read this, it's sort of related. It's one fellas theory on why lefties (and by implication some part of the MSM and the dems) are opposed to the war. http://www.claremont.org/writings/crb/fall2005/helprin.html

Posted by: rakmjn1 on December 1, 2005 03:07 PM

By Bart
12/01/05
WASHINGTON (al Reuters) - Hawkish Democrat, Jack Murtha, congressman for Pennsylvania, spoke to reporters today and said, "The troops in Iraq are worn out."

Murtha really did say that. The hawk is still calling for immediate (and safe) withdrawal (redeployment) from Iraq. Perhaps he doesn't remember voting to NO to immediate withdrawal less than two weeks ago.

Who's this guy "hawkish" for, exactly? I am flabbergasted that one of our elected officials would publicly talk-down our military in the middle of a war and nobody is saying anything about it.

Either Murtha is an old foolish liberal who thinks the military is a jobs program and genuinely cares for them (in a retarded way), or he's part of the DNC's subterfuge campaign for the Republican defeat on the WOT.

Posted by: Bart on December 1, 2005 03:45 PM

The News York Pravda jst prints the usial sewage it always prints

Posted by: spurwing plover on December 1, 2005 04:40 PM

Drudge is finally headlining the Murtha quotes I posted on 7 hours ago.

Murtha's telling the whole world, including our enemies and our soldiers, that we are worn out and broken militarily.

But don't question his patriotism.

I question his mental competence.

Posted by: Bart on December 1, 2005 10:38 PM

"The Democratic Party and MSM cannot be allowed to prevail. Ultimately, though they don't admit to themselves ..., they seek a victory for Al Qaeda, for they have, by their own conscious choice, aligned their interests with the terrorists."

If you are not with me, you are with my enemies, but don't question my patriotism. How can some people be so blind? Hatred will do that for you and it seems the leftist hatred for Bush knows no bounds.

Posted by: docdave on December 2, 2005 12:08 PM

This is the same old saw the Democrat party played throughout the later stages of the cold war! --
which they also insisted was "unwinable." They said that Ronald Reagan was naive; that his world view (specifically that America stood for freedom, while totalitarian communism constituted an "evil empire") was outdated and simplistic. Democrats claimed that the very best the world could ever hope for was a permanent stalemate; that it was only through detante and the endless counting of warheads (if not outright unilateral american disarmament) would we be safe.

And yet, all it took to topple the Soviet empire was the re-election of a conservative Republican president--who called things by their real names--and "stayed the course."

Posted by: Shawn on December 6, 2005 10:57 PM

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Days before the woman was stabbed in the neck by a taxpayer-supported Cultural Enrichment Officer, in the same general area, another taxpayer-supported Cultural Enrichment Officer attacked a boy and bloodied his head with a brick.
What is the UK Regime's plan for protecting the citizens from the savage criminals they've foisted on the populace? They offer NONE. They do, however, have a plan for protecting the savage criminals from the citizens: The citizens must STAY CALM and not get angry and not share videos of citizens being attacked by savage criminals.
The public keeps saying "protect us from the foreign savages you have imported against our wishes and over our objections" and the UK branch of The Regime keeps proposing plans to protect the foreign savages from the public. Soclose to what the public is demanding, just, you know, the complete opposite.
Just a thought: Maybe you wouldn't have to worry about the public attacking the savage criminals if you actually introduced a plan to protect the public from the savage criminals. Maybe they wouldn't feel as if it was necessary for them to protect the public through self-help.

Courtney Subramiam, one of the "journalists" who "previewed" her questions for the decrepit and demented Biden so that he could "answer" it with a pre-scripted response, rewarded by promotion to president of the White House Press Corps

Bonchie
@bonchieredstate

hahahahaha

This is the lady who gave her question to Biden beforehand, and he had it written verbatim in his notes with her picture.

You know what's really terrible? There are Daily Signal reporters in the press room. That's the Real Scandal Here!

English racist garbage-person who's on the wrong side of history warns the corrupt Regime that the people cannot take much more of this -- and won't take much more of this
The English have rebelled before.

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by Ace-Endorsed Author A.H. Lloyd

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I like the throwback AOL style of the ad.

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VOTE JEFF CARTER FOR NV STATE TREASURER!
[CBD]

Mary Margaret Olohan
@MaryMargOlohan

NEW: Five FBI employees were fired today over the infamous Richmond Catholic memo on "radical traditionalist Catholics," FBI source confirms to @realDailyWire.

Oof. Reviewers do not like Scary Movie 6. The criticism I keep hearing is that the movie mistakes a reference for an actual joke. The movie (they say) keeps Key Jangling a reference to another movie (or some other pop culture ephemera) and you expect there to be a joke but nope, the Key Jangle was the joke. Other reviewers say that the promise that "no lines will be uncrossed" is a fake-out, and that the movie is bland and inoffensively corporate.

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Whoops! I posted about Dan Goldman losing the NY congressional primary. He might do that, but it won't be tonight -- the primary isn't held until June 23.

One race to keep an eye on: the Levi's heir nepo baby and egregious "Designated Liar" Dan Goldman -- one of the Democrats from a safe district Democrats send out to spread their most indefensible lies -- may actually lose his lower Manhattan/Brooklyn set due to, get this, antisemitism in the Democrat primary electorate.
Antisemitism? In the anti-Nazi Democrat Party? Sounds crazy, I know, but apparently the anti-Nazi Party wants to eliminate Jews.

Henry Rosoff
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Oh my Totenkopf Tattoo, that is a DRUBBING!
I'm usually very anti-antisemitism but if the Communist Antisemite Jihadists can pull this one off, Go Communist Antisemite Jihadists, Go!

Democrat Senator Rueben Gallego, who served his wife with divorce papers when she was nine months pregnant so that he could marry his side-piece, counsels us that we should not judge Graham Platner for his infidelity because these things are personal matters, Racists:

Sahil Kapur
@sahilkapur

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., on Platner: "We know that Graham has lived not your typical political experience. He's been very clear and open with his wife, and they worked through whatever they worked through. At the end of the day, this man has had 60 more town halls than Susan Collins has. He's winning the polls, he's willing to accept that he has grown as a person, and I think we should accept that."

Gallego says the drip-drip of revelations won't harm Platner's campaign.

"I think you guys are all in a bubble here right now. The drip, drip that's actually happening is Americans are really, really hurt the fact that gas is still high, food is still high, they can't buy a home, you can't afford rent. They're not going to care about text messages and everything else like that that happened years ago, especially when it was worked out between spouses."

I like that he says that it's okay that Graham Platner sexted 12 different women within months of marrying the woman to sponge off her because he wasn't then "living a political life" -- the clear meaning being, "We all cheat, we just don't cheat when we're running for office, and he didn't know he was running for office when he was sending dicpics to half the women he ran into."
Except he was running: His own wife turned the sexts over to his campaign.
And obviously Reuben Gallego didn't let his "political life" get in the way of his extramarital dating life:

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