November 23, 2005
RIGHT TRACK:
Iraq's a lost cause? Ask the real experts (Max Boot, November 23, 2005, LA Times)
[I]n a survey last month from the U.S.-based International Republican Institute, 47% of Iraqis polled said their country was headed in the right direction, as opposed to 37% who said they thought that it was going in the wrong direction. And 56% thought things would be better in six months. Only 16% thought they would be worse.American soldiers are also much more optimistic than American civilians. The Pew Research Center and the Council on Foreign Relations just released a survey of American elites that found that 64% of military officers are confident that we will succeed in establishing a stable democracy in Iraq. The comparable figures for journalists and academics are 33% and 27%, respectively. Even more impressive than the Pew poll is the evidence of how our service members are voting with their feet. Although both the Army and the Marine Corps are having trouble attracting fresh recruits — no surprise, given the state of public opinion regarding Iraq — reenlistment rates continue to exceed expectations. Veterans are expressing their confidence in the war effort by signing up to continue fighting.
Now, it could be that the Iraqi public and the U.S. armed forces are delusional. Maybe things really are on an irreversible downward slope. But before reaching such an apocalyptic conclusion, stop to consider why so many with firsthand experience have more hope than those without any.
They're more optimistic about their future than Europeans are about theirs. Posted by Orrin Judd at November 23, 2005 9:29 AM
The great fear of the 15% or so of the US population who are left liberals is that, should we succeed in Iraq, it will finally become obvious to the other 85% of the country that we don't need to pay attention to them or their advice.
This prospect has them transfixed with fear, and drives their hysteria. Being left to themselves in the few places they dominate (academia, San Francisco, etc.), listened to only by each other, is for them a fate worse than death. That part I can well understand.
Posted by: ZF at November 23, 2005 4:02 PMZF:
You are fully correct. A win in Iraq provides for the fatal shot. Democrats and the media have emerged from ambiguity and cover and stand exposed. They have taken the bait and created a long audit trail. They can win only if Iraq is lost.
But will the Bush WH pull the trigger and level them?
Posted by: Luciferous at November 23, 2005 4:30 PM