Look Back in Anger
Weekly Standard picks Petraeus for POTY, picks apart Time:
Time ludicrously chose to make Russia’s ex-KGB agent-turned president Vladimir Putin its cover boy. They just couldn’t make Petraeus man–oops–person of the year. Our liberal elites are so invested in a narrative of defeat and disaster in Iraq that to acknowledge the prospect of victory would be too head-wrenching and heart-rending. It would mean giving credit to George W. Bush, for one. And it would mean acknowledging American success in a war Time, and the Democratic party, and the liberal elites, had proclaimed lost.
The editors couldn’t acknowledge their mugging by reality. That’s fine. Nonetheless, reality exists. And the reality is that in Iraq, after mistakes and failures, thanks to the leadership of Bush, Petraeus, and General Ray Odierno–the day-to-day commander whose contributions shouldn’t be overlooked–we are winning.
Read the whole thing. But here’s an interesting closing point.
There were those who argued that the U.S. military could not succeed in counterinsurgency because Americans were not tough and bloodthirsty enough. They said that brutality was essential in subduing insurgents and our humanity would be our downfall.
They were wrong. The counterinsurgency campaign of 2007 was probably the most precise, discriminate, and humane military operation ever undertaken on such a scale. Our soldiers and Marines worked hard–and took risks and even casualties–to ensure, as much as possible, that they hurt only enemies. Compared with any previous military operations of this size, they were astonishingly successful. The measure of their success lies in the fact that so many Iraqis now see American troops as friends and protectors. Petraeus and his generals have shown that Americans can fight insurgencies and win–and still be Americans. For that and so much else, he is the man of the year.
I remember wishing there would be a little more aggression. It was exercised on al-Qaeda, but it is too bad al-Sadr wasn’t drawn into his own destruction. A year ago, I was eager to see the crap blown out of everything, including Iran. The softly softly approach, relatively speaking, worked with the locals and worked here at home. I’m not convinced the surge to date has dealt with some of the fundamental problems, notably Iran, which is only a worse problem now that the CIA has chosen to give Iran a hall pass. Sadr, meanwhile, is still a problem, despite indicators that the Shite on the Street is sick of his thugs, and he’s been repositioning himself accordingly. Theoretically, by gaining breathing space that surge security operations bought, with the strategic agreement with Iraq to allow an ongoing presence against Iran, we live to fight another day in theater, and domestic politics favor the side a little better than they might have otherwise. But it still all depends on who becomes president and who controls Congress.
Anyway, all that aside, here’s a little on who did get Time’s POTY.
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 7:42 pm on Saturday, December 22, 2007
4 Responses to “Look Back in Anger”
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December 23rd, 2007 at 12:59 pm
I agree with The Standard. Time blathers on about “it ain’t about doing good, it’s about influence”, but Putin is another dictator in the process of grabbing power*, and deserves no positive attention. Which, God help western civilization, is exactly what the Time POTY amounts to.
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*: Although with Russia’s demographics in a downward spiral, this might be a moot point. What’s the benefit of being absolute ruler of a dying nation?
December 23rd, 2007 at 2:35 pm
Time? Didn’t there used to be a news magazine by that name?
December 23rd, 2007 at 5:05 pm
Geez, I was kinda hoping that Time’s POTY would be that snowman who so challenged the Democrats in the YouTube debate.
December 24th, 2007 at 8:21 am
[...] Kristol’s skewering of Time (HT Jules Crittenden) on its “Putin of the Year” selection and simultaneous tribute to General [...]