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Power of Wishful Thinking

JFK School deep think by Samantha Power on how to stop genocide in Iraq. Quick take:

Genocide is a Bushy myth spun by people who have bounced from one myth to another to justify war in Iraq, because that’s just what kind of people they are. But genocide is also a legitimate fear of well-meaning concerned non-Bushy people, who legitimately fear genocide in a well-meaning kind of way. However, some anti-Bushites dismiss the genocide, saying we should just leave, but that’s not good. US troops can’t stop sectarian violence, therefore we should announce that we are leaving.

That will scare the Iraqis into solving their problems (an idea I’m pretty sure she stole from the genocide dismissers). On the way out the door, we will use our influence to institute important political and judicial measures to stop genocide. Also, asylum all around for anyone who wants it, and warnings to Sunni terrorists and Shiite death squads that once we’re gone, we won’t tolerate any more of that sectarian violence nonsense. Some kind of small US force will be left to stop that, although how they are supposed to do what the current big US force supposedly can’t, not clear.

At least I think that’s what she’s saying, but this thing is all over the place. Power apparently has failed to notice that the surge strategy she disparages is in fact cutting sharply into the sectarian violence, that economic and political measures to get the Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds singing Kumbaya are topping the agenda. Her myopia on these matters may be a result of reading limited to sources such as the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Guardian, the Associated Press. I don’t know, so I can’t say that. 

But I can say that this is quite possibly the most ridiculous thinking on Iraq I’ve heard yet. Must read for full appreciation of its precocious child-like admonishing charms.

Topics: Iraq

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:43 pm on Monday, March 5, 2007

9 Responses to “Power of Wishful Thinking”

1. saltydog Says:
   March 5th, 2007 at 11:28 pm

   Jesus wept. This person won a Pulitzer? And teaches at Harvard? It explains a lot. And is very scary.

2. blogagog Says:
   March 5th, 2007 at 11:55 pm

   My pet rabbit has a bushy tail.

3. Bill's Bites Says:
   March 6th, 2007 at 1:37 am

   Nibbles // Open Post — 2007.03.06

   Just read ‘em. Maybe I’ll find time to do more with ‘em later. (And some things that are too short to excerpt and too good to not mention.) Please feel free to use this post for comments and trackbacks not

4. Old War Dogs Says:
   March 6th, 2007 at 1:38 am

   Bill’s Nibbles // Open Post — 2007.03.06

   Some Bill’s Bites posts, some things I excerpted and linked but I’m sending you to the original post. I may rearrange the order of the items within this post as I add new things that I think belong above the

5. To Stay or Not to Stay, That is the Question « Michael P.F. van der Galiën Says:
   March 6th, 2007 at 3:29 am

   [...] Mar 6th, 2007 by mvdg As you all will know by now, I believe that the U.S. has made a lot of mistakes in Iraq and that I fear that whatever the U.S. does right now is too little, too late. The question that is the logical result of such a line of thinking is: should the U.S., then, withdraw (immediately)? Jules Crittenden has an ironic post up about just that. Whether one agrees with everything Jules writes and whether one appreciates Jules’ confronting style or not, it seems undeniable to me that the does touch on some inconsistencies in the way quite some opponents of the surge, or better - advocates of withdrawal think. [...]

6. Right Wing Nation Says:
   March 6th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

   [...] land kinda way. Date Posted: Tuesday, March 6th, 2007 by rightwingprof Categories: Wackjobs Trackback URI(right-click) [...]

7. RebeccaH Says:
   March 6th, 2007 at 6:38 pm

   the U.S. should go further and announce its willingness to assist in the voluntary transport and relocation of Iraqi civilians in peril.

   And it would be really retro cool if we could get photos of them lining up on the US embassy roof to get in helicopters.

   The very definition of insane leftism is to keep repeating the same mistake and expecting a different result.

8. Ed Driscoll.com Says:
   March 7th, 2007 at 1:02 am

   Where’s Jack Handey When you Need Him?

   Jules Crittenden explores the “Power of Wishful Thinking”:JFK School deep think by Samantha Power on how to stop genocide in Iraq. Quick take: Genocide is a Bushy myth spun by people who have bounced from one myth to another to…

9. Dave Surls Says:
   March 7th, 2007 at 4:39 pm

   “This person won a Pulitzer?”

   Obviously, any idiot can win one.

   “Astoundingly, the U.S. took in just 202 Iraqis last year and, although the maximum for this year was recently raised to 7,000, this is still not sufficient.”

   Right, moron. And in WWII, while we were still fighting the Germans, we should have opened the immigration floodgates and resettled zillions of German refugees to show what swell guys we were.

   Jackass.

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