The question that haunts me about Iraq
Mickey Kaus, in responding to a Peter Beinart TNR column points out the maddening problem with performing an autopsy on what’s happened Iraq: the cause of failures to date will never be determined: [There] is the conceit, among Iraq war supporters, that what’s gone wrong in Iraq must be the product of administration “bungling.” There ...
Mickey Kaus, in responding to a Peter Beinart TNR column points out the maddening problem with performing an autopsy on what's happened Iraq: the cause of failures to date will never be determined:
Mickey Kaus, in responding to a Peter Beinart TNR column points out the maddening problem with performing an autopsy on what’s happened Iraq: the cause of failures to date will never be determined:
[There] is the conceit, among Iraq war supporters, that what’s gone wrong in Iraq must be the product of administration “bungling.” There has been bungling, of course. But it’s not at all clear that a lot of the problems we’ve encountered could have been avoided by the best planning and diplomacy in the world. Maybe there were big problems inherent in the whole project. This is the possibility–that the decision to go to war itself was wrong–that vehement talk of bungling conveniently excludes. (emphasis in original)
I argued back in May that there was a good prima facie case to be made that fault lay with the implementation, not with the ideas. However, I also added:
[W]e can’t rewind history and replay Iraq with better implementation. It is impossible to say with absolute certainty that the flaw lay with the idea or the implementation. I clearly think it’s the implementation, but I will gladly concede that there are decent arguments out there that the idea itself was wrong as well.
Six months later, I still believe I’m right about the poor implementation — but there’s no way to know for sure.
Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner
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