[Marxism] NYT's Frank Rich on Iraq and "The war we just might win"

["Joaquin Bustelo" <jbustelo@xxxxxxxxx>]

A very interesting column today by Frank Rich, castigating the witch-hunting
use of "support our troops" but mostly (implicitly) accusing his bosses of
having perpetrated journalistic fraud by printing "The War we just might
win" op-ed piece by Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack.

Among Rich's charges: 

First, this is just Pentagon propaganda, with two sock-puppet "experts"
merely regurgitating what the military told them.

Second, the claim by the two authors that they are "analysts who have
harshly criticized the Bush administration's miserable handling of Iraq" is
a lie, in that it seeks to create the impression they have been opponents of
the war when, in fact, they were promoters and defenders of it.

Third, their track record on Iraq disproves any claim of expertise or
insight into the situation. 

Among other things, Rich provides multiple links to other columnists as well
as bloggers extensively illustrating his points.

The column is also interesting for what it reveals about the liberal
opponents of the war.

Referring to Pollack and O'Hanlon, Rich says, "The hole in their argument
was gaping. As Adm. Michael Mullen, the next chairman of the Joint Chiefs,
said honorably and bluntly in his Congressional confirmation hearings, 'No
amount of troops in no amount of time will make much of a difference' in
Iraq if there's no functioning Iraqi government. Opting for wishes over
reality, Mr. O'Hanlon and Mr. Pollack buried their pro forma acknowledgment
of that huge hurdle near the end of their piece." 

But of course, the REASON there is no functioning Iraqi government is that
the country is under occupation by the U.S. military. The current government
is an expression of that occupation at a time when the life and politics of
the nation revolve around getting rid of the occupation. Thus the stated
condition for U.S. withdrawal --a strong, stable Iraqi government-- is
something the U.S. presence prevents.

Nevertheless, a good, fun read. The whole thing is here:

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/opinion/05rich-1.html

I *think* that's behind the NYT's subscription firewall, but I can send a
copy to those who want it and don't have access.

Joaquin


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