"... Recall the bracing good sense of Obama's October 2002 speech to a rally organized by Chicagoans Against War in Iraq:
"I...know that Saddam poses no imminent and direct threat to the United States, or to his neighbors, that the Iraqi economy is in shambles, that the Iraqi military [has] a fraction of its former strength, and that in concert with the international community he can be contained until, in the way of all petty dictators, he falls away into the dustbin of history. I know that even a successful war against Iraq will require a US occupation of undetermined length, at undetermined cost, with undetermined consequences. I know that an invasion of Iraq without a clear rationale and without strong international support will only fan the flames of the Middle East and encourage the worst, rather than best, impulses of the Arab world, and strengthen the recruitment arm of Al Qaeda."
... It would nevertheless be a mistake for those of us who knew better at the time to dismiss forever the judgment of everyone who was taken in. Mistakes, after all, are endemic to foreign and military policy given the unpredictability of events and the difficulty of securing reliable information in a place like Iraq. But the onus ought to be on those who drove this SUV off the cliff to explain why we should ever strap ourselves into their vehicle again.
Brilliant piece from Eric Alterman at The Nation, although he's far too dismissive of the ignorant because, those of us who who knew better should tell you, the sheep who lacked the mental capacity and the intestinal fortitude to think on your own, to shut the fuck up!
The lying 'right' often say, 'everybody thought Saddam was a threat' No, Barack Obama knew better. So did 57% of the Congressional Democrats, and an embarrassing, 21% of us, 'knew better'.
