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About their patriotism... Always Ready to HelpBy Rick Horowitz
I want to be clear about this. I know that the debate about Iraq gets pretty heated sometimes. It's not surprising, when you think about it. The war has been going on for a frustratingly long time, and instead of seeing steady progress, most of the experts believe that conditions over there are only getting worse. An increasing share of the American people feels that going into Iraq was a blunder, and that it won't end well, and that we should get out. The president, meanwhile, is pushing ahead with plans to send even more of our troops into the chaos, which has gotten some people really riled up.
In fact, let me say it again: I don't question George Bush's patriotism. Why am I saying that? Because it's important that the American people hear it. George Bush is perfectly free to disagree with me about the war in Iraq and still be just as patriotic a person as I am. He can even disagree with a majority of the American people about the war in Iraq and still be just as patriotic as they are. I know that the president has been going out of his way lately, in press conferences and speeches and the like, to say that he's not questioning the patriotism of the people who disagree with him on the war. People like me. So I thought it would be only appropriate to reciprocate, to offer him the same kind of defense he keeps offering so many of us, and to offer it in the very same spirit. I think that's very nice of me, don't you? Of course, not questioning George Bush's patriotism isn't the same as not questioning anything -- just as making a big thing about not questioning his opponents' patriotism hasn't kept the president from throwing plenty of zingers in their direction anyway. His judgment, for instance. I suppose you could say, if you were looking for other things to question about George Bush, that his judgment in going into Iraq was less than stellar. You could certainly say it in retrospect -- although, truth be told, plenty of people were saying it even before we went in: the wrong war, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. I'm sure the president meant well. He just made the wrong call. But that's no reason to question George Bush's patriotism. Likewise for the way the war was conducted, with no real plan for getting a conquered nation back up on its feet. The people the president appointed and relied on, in Baghdad and here at home, gave him terrible advice. They made terrible decisions -- decisions the president continued to support, month after month, year after year. I'm sure the president didn't mean to sign on to a strategy that opened the door to an insurgency, and then to a brutal civil war. He just made a hash of it. But that's no reason to question George Bush's patriotism. And even if our enemies have watched our struggles in Iraq and seen how overextended we are, and how thin we're stretched, and have tried to take advantage, that doesn't mean the president intended to embolden our enemies. That doesn't mean he intended to undermine the morale of our troops, or give terrorists a chance to sharpen their skills, or weaken our influence in the world. It just means he's been...mistaken. But that's still no reason to question George Bush's patriotism. Or to think he's not a good, honorable citizen of the country. I know he'd say the same about us. No question about it. Posted 2/15/07. Get
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Rick Horowitz
