Clarify, Please
Andy McCarthy says:
For what little it may be worth, I judge who America's allies and enemies are in Iraq (and every place else) by virtue of their positions on our most policy goals. I look at Maliki and I see not only an opponent of Israel but a proponent of Iran, Hezbollah and Sadr. I don't see that as being an ally. If that makes me crazy, call me crazy.
Well, crazy or not at the end of the day Maliki is . . . Prime Minister of Iraq. And the other major figures on the Iraqi political scene -- Muqtada al-Sadr and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim -- aren't going to alleviate these sorts of concerns. So if this crew in Iraq aren't our allies, then what does McCarthy think we're doing over there? I'll gladly admit that I don't know what we're trying to do over there at this point, which is precisely why I'd like us to leave. But what's McCarthy's take? How long are we supposed to fight on behalf of a government he doesn't think qualifies as an ally?
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What McCarthy thinks is that we should install the Iraqi National Congress as the government, make Chalabi the ruler of Iraq, and if Sistani gets upset about it (Sistani as I recall was the one who pushed us to have elections rather than a caucus - read rather than install the INC), tell him to shut up. If the Iraqis get uppity at that, then we just start massacring recvalcitrant Iraqis until they give in.
If you read his articles, that seems to be his basic position.
"You say I'm a dreamer. We're two of a kind. Looking for some perfect world that we both know that we'll never find." - Thompson Twins, "Hold Me Now"
July 26, 2006 8:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
I will just note for the record that after a brief experiment with democracy, human rights, and Wilsonian idealism, the good folks at the Corner are reverting to type.
Now that McCarthy and Co. have decided we don't have any allies in Iraq, their solution is to kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out.
July 27, 2006 8:04 AM | Reply | Permalink
I will just note for the record that after a brief experiment with democracy, human rights, and Wilsonian idealism, the good folks at the Corner are reverting to type.
That is not entirely an accurate assessment. Derbyshire and McCarthy have always believed this and were not on board with the idea of a grand experiment with democracy. They are not "reverting" to anything. This is what they have always believed.
Now if Michael Ledeen, Cliff May, or Michael Rubin says something like that, that is a whole other ball game.
<>"You say I'm a dreamer. We're two of a kind. Looking for some perfect world that we both know that we'll never find." - Thompson Twins, "Hold Me Now"
July 27, 2006 3:16 PM | Reply | Permalink