Why does it make you mad to remember that people on the Left did not all demand immediate US withdrawal from Iraq from the beginning of the occupation? This fact was taken note of on this mailing list before -- e.g.:
<http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/2004/2004-September/021356.html> [lbo-talk] Eat shit and die, was United against a Pro-War Democrat snit snat snitilicious at tampabay.rr.com Thu Sep 23 21:06:03 PDT 2004
At 10:45 AM 9/23/2004, Chuck Grimes wrote:
>Meanwhile, Congressman Tom Lantos, D-San Mateo, who is running for
>his 13th term, admits mistakes have been made in Iraq, but doesn't
>think troops should leave.
>
>----------
>
>Doesn't it strike anyone as odd that Kerry, the whole of the Democrats
>including Feinstein and Lantos, both classic liberals with a straight
>streak (pro-Israel to the bone), think the war on Iraq was okay? There
>is something intentionally wrong about the complete lack of opposition
>to the war from inside the beltway, and inside the Democratic party.
>
>It is so odd, that I have to believe these asshole actually approve of
>the war, despite the obvious and egregious lies, the completely
>unprepared nature of the occupation, the horrors of Abu Ghraib and a
>dozen other issues that all (any or each) would provide deep and
>serious oppositional political material to attack the Repugnants.
I think they really believe that, if the us pulls out, then the us will look weak.
I also think that, like plenty of people even on this list, they think the us has to fix what it broke. to walk away now would surely mean a country in chaos.
Now, if plenty of folks on _this_ list believed that (and may still, I don't know), then surely yer average Demlicant believes it. I suspect that many lefties who supported the us staying there to 'fix what it broke' no longer think so. but it was a lot easier for them to move to that position b/c of where their politics were to begin with. it's a longer haul for yer average Demlicant to get there.
Finally, there is the practical issue. They're in power. Surely folk in Washington can get behind the brilliance of the neocon strategy, ex post facto. They think, "Hey, we're there. And even though it was the wrong way to go about it, it's too juicy to let go now."
kelley
"We're in a fucking stagmire."
--Little Carmine, 'The Sopranos' -- Yoshie