BCT Editorial – 10/4/06

This page was last updated on October 4, 2006.

Turf wars; Editorial; Beaver County Times; October 4, 2006.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject editorial.

“Perhaps what the Iraqis really want is to be left alone to sort out the future

“When Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf appeared on Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,’ the host asked him who would win an election in that country, President Bush or terrorist Osama bin Laden.”

[RWC] As often as Times editorials cite “The Daily Show,” I’m beginning to believe the Times thinks it is a real news program.

“Musharraf answered that neither would.

“In a case of comedy reflecting tragedy, the same answer probably would hold if the Iraqi people were asked to make the same choice.”

[RWC] Why on Earth would anyone expect any American president to win an election in any country other than the U.S.? The question was stupid, but the editorial’s conclusion managed to trump it.

“The Associated Press reports that a poll of more than 1,000 Iraqis done for the University of Maryland’s Program on International Policy Attitudes found that 71 percent want the United States out of their country within a year.”

[RWC] No kidding, Dick Tracy! What would anyone expect? If the same poll had been taken after World War II in Germany and Japan, does anyone care to guess what the result would have been? I don’t know why anyone wasted the time asking these questions. The responses were completely predictable and understandable.

“Another indication of the negative view Iraqis have of the United States is that almost four in five Iraqis say the U.S. military force in Iraq provokes more violence than it prevents - and about 61 percent approved of attacks on U.S. forces.

“That 61 percent approval rating is up from 47 percent in January. The AP reported that according to the poll, a solid majority of Shiite and Sunni Arabs approved of the attacks.”

[RWC] I have to admit these two results are bothersome. Predictably, though, the editorial didn’t attempt to explore the reasons.

“Ominously, the increase came mostly among Shiite Iraqis, who have been relatively quiescent and have gained the most power from the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq. (The Kurds are in a different situation because their region has been semi-autonomous as a result of the Gulf War.)

“The Maryland study’s results were backed up by a poll conducted by the U.S. State Department that found two-thirds of Iraqis in Baghdad favor an immediate withdrawal of U.S. forces.”

[RWC] I’m not sure we can conclude the State Department poll backed up the UM poll simply because the State Department didn’t release all the results or the details of the poll.

“But even though Iraqis approve of the attacks on U.S. forces, they aren’t necessarily siding with the terrorists. The Maryland poll found that an overwhelming majority had a negative opinion of bin Laden, and 57 percent disapproved of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.”

[RWC] Iraqis “aren’t necessarily siding with the terrorists?” Could that be because the terrorists are the ones killing Iraqis, not the U.S.?

“OK, so the Iraqis don’t like us, they don’t like the terrorists and they don’t like the Iranians. Considering what those three outside forces are doing to their country, it’s no wonder they feel that way.”

[RWC] Here the editorial draws a moral equivalence among the Iranians, terrorists, and the U.S. Amazing!

“Maybe it’s time to let the Iraqis sort out this Bush-generated mess by themselves. As the polls show, they certainly don’t have much confidence in the Bush administration successfully finishing the job, and neither should the American people.”

[RWC] There’s a little selective quoting of the poll. While Times editorials try to convince us Iraq is in a civil war and is ready to split apart, the poll found “A majority of Iraqis, 72%, say they think Iraq will be one state five years from now. Shiite Iraqis were most likely to feel that way, though a majority of Sunnis and Kurds also believed that would be the case.”

“Bush-generated mess?” As I recall, and as the record shows, this action was a bipartisan endeavor. While Democrats have since changed course, their leaders were the guys providing the direst quotes about the dangers of Iraq.

“[T]he polls show, they [Iraqis] certainly don’t have much confidence in the Bush administration successfully finishing the job?” I don’t know if Iraqis have confidence we can successfully complete our mission, but you can’t draw that conclusion from the poll results. All the poll results say is Iraqis want to be self-sufficient ASAP.