By Juan Cole
www.juancole.com
Editor's note: John McCain's latest stumble in discussing Iraq -- in which he muddled the timeline of the so-called "surge" -- was treated by most of the press as an unfortunate gaffe, rather than further proof that the aspiring commander in chief does not know what he's talking about when it comes to the war and occupation. (One CNN report actually ran the headline: "McCain Broadens Definition of the Surge.") Meanwhile, the Republican nominee's recent attacks on Barack Obama for failing to admit the success of the "surge" was widely reported by the same members of the media, whose dominant and uncritical narrative has long been that, as McCain and Bush contend, the "surge" has been an unqualified success. "Why can't Obama bring himself to acknowledge the surge worked better than he and other skeptics thought that it would?" a USA Today editorial asked last week.
Keep Reading...
Peacenik ponders...Why it is that the media and most polticians have deemed the surge a success? Forget the failed timeline, the unmet performance measures, the violence and the ethnic cleansing. Read Juan Cole's sad overview, above. And try and remember the CNN footage from the days before shock and awe when there was a vibrant city life and street life in Bahgdad. When there was a sophisticated, educated, civil society.....
www.juancole.com
Editor's note: John McCain's latest stumble in discussing Iraq -- in which he muddled the timeline of the so-called "surge" -- was treated by most of the press as an unfortunate gaffe, rather than further proof that the aspiring commander in chief does not know what he's talking about when it comes to the war and occupation. (One CNN report actually ran the headline: "McCain Broadens Definition of the Surge.") Meanwhile, the Republican nominee's recent attacks on Barack Obama for failing to admit the success of the "surge" was widely reported by the same members of the media, whose dominant and uncritical narrative has long been that, as McCain and Bush contend, the "surge" has been an unqualified success. "Why can't Obama bring himself to acknowledge the surge worked better than he and other skeptics thought that it would?" a USA Today editorial asked last week.
Keep Reading...
Peacenik ponders...Why it is that the media and most polticians have deemed the surge a success? Forget the failed timeline, the unmet performance measures, the violence and the ethnic cleansing. Read Juan Cole's sad overview, above. And try and remember the CNN footage from the days before shock and awe when there was a vibrant city life and street life in Bahgdad. When there was a sophisticated, educated, civil society.....
