Alternate Iraq War Universe … Obama Won!
It’s a weird Tom Friedman dream sequence:
BAGHDAD, Aug. 25, 2012 — President Obama flew into Baghdad today on his end-of-term tour to highlight successes in U.S. foreign policy. At a time when the Arab-Israel negotiations remain mired in deadlock and Afghanistan remains mired in quagmire, Mr. Obama hailed the peaceful end of America’s combat presence in Iraq as his only Middle East achievement. Speaking to a gathering of Iraqi and U.S. officials under the banner “Mission Actually Accomplished,” written in Arabic and English, Mr. Obama took credit for helping Iraq achieve a decent — albeit hugely costly — end to the war initiated by President Bush. Aides said Mr. Obama would highlight the progress in Iraq in his re-election campaign.
Could we actually read such a news article in three years? I wouldn’t bet on it.
Well, I would. I have no doubt that, should Iraq continue on its path to stability and prosperity, Obama will seek and be granted credit for it. Never mind that the surge was initiated by President George Bush, and the current withdrawal was negotiated by the Bush administration with a sovereign, elected Iraqi government which his actions allowed to come into being, in place of the prior despot he had deposed, while Democrats, including Obama, were howling for abandonment. Obama deserves some credit, of course. For staying Bush’s course and throwing his own boneheaded pandering demands for a precipitous pullout under the bus.
OK, I thought Friedman had got about as weird as he could. Silly me.
This next step is particularly important, which is why we cannot let Afghanistan distract U.S. diplomats from Iraq. Remember: Transform Iraq and it will impact the whole Arab-Muslim world. Change Afghanistan and you just change Afghanistan.
Fascinating. The big clamor for the last few years of course has been that Iraq was distracting us from Afghanistan, and now every jackanape out there, to include Friedman, says Afghanistan’s no big deal after all. But Friedman oneups your run-of-the-mill surrender enthusiast by circling all the way back to declare Iraq the lynchpin of the Middle East.
Anyway, I’m glad Friedman wants Obama to remember Iraq. Recent events serve to remind that there are people out there who don’t give up, and as the Bush admin indicatd, an ongoing presence in Iraq may be in our interest and Iraq’s. Much like our ongoing presence in Korea, 50-plus years on. A lot of Americans gave their lives to remove a dangerous despot, free 25 million people, rout al Qaeda and hold Iran at bay in Iraq. Their sacrifice dramatically changed the dynamic of one of the most strategically critical regions of the world, with spinoff benefits from Lebanon to Libya, among other places, worrying tyrants and inspiring people who didn’t think free elections were possible in the Arab world. It is worth preserving, and building on.
Friedman goes out with an offhanded “Yes, let’s figure out Afghanistan … ” which is big of him. But it’s unfortunate that someone with the sophisticated worldview he is supposed to have, as widely read and respected as his opinions are, apparently thinks that Afghanistan, home to the Taliban, former base of al Qaeda operations, playground of Pakistani, Iranian and Indian intelligence, exists in a vacuum. And that he thinks Obama had anything to do with stabilizing Iraq.
If Obama does get a victory lap in 2012, hopefully he’ll have the good manners to give George a nod. That, I wouldn’t bet on. He’ll be running against a Republican then. While he probably still will be yapping about all the things he inherited from Bush, victory in Iraq won’t be one of them. And when he lands in Baghdad for the grip-and-grin, you will most definitely see news articles crediting him with the win.
Topics: Iraq, Obama, media, moronocy
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 10:35 pm on Sunday, October 25, 2009
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October 26th, 2009 at 6:25 pm
[...] a condescending Gibson said he thinks the MSM should “ leave to the cables .”) Brava. Alternate Iraq War Universe … Obama Won! - julescrittenden.com 10/26/2009 It’s a weird Tom Friedman dream sequence: BAGHDAD, Aug. 25, [...]
October 26th, 2009 at 11:08 pm
[...] while I agree with Jules Crittenden that the current President will do his best to hog the credit for it, better for both Iraq and [...]