Democracy Arsenal

« NSN Daily Update: McCain Gets History of Surge Wrong, 7/23/08 | Main | Like Shooting Wildebeest in a Barrel »

July 23, 2008

That Wacky, Wacky Washington Post Editorial Board
Posted by Michael Cohen

The slavish support of the Washington Post editorial board for the war in Iraq is not a new phenomenon, but today's editorial about Obama's trip to Iraq is a particularly egregious and pathetic example. The Post alleges:

"It seems worthwhile to point out that, by Mr. Obama's own account, neither U.S. commanders nor Iraq's principal political leaders actually support his strategy."

Well indeed this would be a worthwhile point if the above statement was either true or relevant. It is neither.

First the Post argues, "Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has a history of tailoring his public statements for political purposes, made headlines by saying he would support a withdrawal of American forces by 2010. But an Iraqi government statement made clear that Mr. Maliki's timetable would extend at least seven months beyond Mr. Obama's."

This is just sad. First of all, identify me a politician who doesn't tailor public statement for political purposes. The Post Editorial Board might want to walk out of their offices and take a gander over at 1600 Pennsylvania for another example of individuals who engage in such behavior.

But the Post is either misinformed or obfuscating about the statements of Iraqis leaders regarding Obama's plan. Here is Maliki in Der Spiegel:

"U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes"

Here's the Iraqi national security advisor, Ali al-Dabbagh:

Iraq's government spokesman is hopeful that U.S. combat forces could be out of the country by 2010.

Ali al-Dabbagh made the comments following a meeting in Baghdad on Monday between Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama, who arrived in Iraq earlier in the day.

 

And what is the Post's basis for arguing that the Iraqis want troops out by the end of 2010? As near as I can tell it is this quote from Iraq's Sunni Vice President, Tariq al-Hashemi

"I'd be happy if we reach an agreement to say, for instance, the 31st of December 2010" would mark the departure of the last U.S. combat unit.

For instance! They are basing their attack on Obama on a "for instance!" Criminy!

Why is the Post even arguing this point - even if you buy the somewhat silly notion that the Iraqis want US troops out by the end of 2010 and Obama wants them out in the middle of 2010, who cares? Clearly the Iraqis and Obama are on the same page and John McCain who is calling for US troops to remain in Iraq for 100 years is not. Maybe the Post could engage on that question.

But this is easy pickings. Here is the Post's argument that really ticks me off, their notion that we shouldn't leave Iraq because the military doesn't agree:

Gen. David H. Petraeus, the architect of the dramatic turnaround in U.S. fortunes, "does not want a timetable," Mr. Obama reported with welcome candor during a news conference yesterday. In an interview with ABC, he explained that "there are deep concerns about . . . a timetable that doesn't take into account what [American commanders] anticipate might be some sort of change in conditions."

Forgive me for saying, but why is this relevant? Any President should certainly welcome the view of military leaders but ultimately David Petraeus works for the President (chain of command, baby) and when the President tells him to do something, he does it. End of discussion. The President's job is to set policy and the military's job is to implement it. If a President Obama decides that it is in US interests for American troops to be sent from Iraq to Afghanistan Petraeus can make his concerns know, but ultimately his job is to salute and do what he is ordered to do.

Over the past few years we've become inured to the notion that our military leaders are the ones driving our political decisions on the war on terror, but of course this is exactly backwards and undermines the very notion of civilian leadership of the military.

Finally, what's most maddening about the quote from Obama above is that he was not saying these words to show that the military disagrees with his plan, but instead that he will be flexible in implementing his withdrawal plan based on what he hears from the military. Isn't that the kind of approach that we want from our political leaders?

You know if I didn't know any better one would think that the Washington Post is basing their editorials on cherry-picked information and is ignoring key underlying realities. Hmm, that does sound familiar.

TrackBack

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451c04d69e200e553cf434a8834

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference That Wacky, Wacky Washington Post Editorial Board:

Comments

They supply dofus kamas.
They also supply cheapest kamas for the customer.
I usually buydofus gold from them. If you want to
buy dofus kamas, please contact them.

I get a lot of rappelz rupeesand the rappelz gold is very important for me. Some of the rappelz money is given by my friends who buy rupees to let me happy.


I hope i can get twelve sky Gold in low price,
Yesterday i want to buy 12sky gold for my friend.

so they often search where can buy the cheap mabinogi, I think our website is your choice. Many friends told me that in here can buy mabinogi gold, and you will also practice your online games skills.

If you are looking for a watch to buy,rolex perpetual come to solve the problem of the not-so-rich category of people. A rolex oyster perpetual can be purchased by many of us, due to the accessible price it can have. A rolex oyster perpetual date will always cost only a few hundred dollars.

Thank you.Hot Shoes Cheap Jordan shoes michael jordan shoes and are on sale-Free shipping.

This is very useful article, I like it, thank you!
Never frown, when you are sad, because you never know who is falling in love with your smile.

As the business grows, rolex replica has also jumped into an international brand. It is worth mentioning that, replica rolex paypal is the ancestor of today's brand-oriented, in order to protect the quality and brand name will be printed on their products, the history of fashion in the world, is the first one first. replica watches, rolex replica, fake rolex watches.

Superbe article, vraiment simple et utile. Bravo pour sa mise en ligne. C’est ce genre d’information que le public (et moi en particulier) recherche.

Don't bury your head in the sand.

The comments to this entry are closed.

Subscribe
Sign-up to receive a weekly digest of the latest posts from Democracy Arsenal.
Email: 
Powered by TypePad

Disclaimer

The opinions voiced on Democracy Arsenal are those of the individual authors and do not represent the views of any other organization or institution with which any author may be affiliated.
Read Terms of Use