I've just finished Brian Beutler's article in New Republic which comes to no conclusions about the present Iraq war. Smart man, Brian. Well that is the point, there are no valid conclusions at this time to come to except that we screwed up big time the first time around. Do we want to do it again? He goes to some lengths, even if those lengths are a bit murky, to remind us of the motivations some hawkish elements in our society might have to promote reengagement, but no matter what, skeptics are right in viewing these opinions as tainted by more than a smidge of justification.
Most of our country including myself are weary of the war machine. We want better methods of dealing with these terrorists than sending the fleet, or expensive bombers, or feet on the ground made up of our children. We know we're naive and don't need to be told. We're just tired of the mantle of universal protector. We look around and see so much dysfunction in our surroundings that needs correction and feel the urge to shout "Iraq take care of your own damn problem" knowing full well how much our own nation's gross misjudgments contributed.
And so we come full circle to the big question: what is our responsibility to Iraq? Is there any body in our administration or legislature capable of coming to the cogent assessment without being drawn into partisan politics? We all know too well the answer to that question. Thank you Brian Beutler for causing these reflections without conclusions.
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