Picture My Amazement

Michael Barone produces the most hackish paragraph ever produced in the entire history of Iraq war hawk hackery.

There's still much to be learned about our decisions, good and bad, in Iraq. But Feith's book is a step forward, as were those of Sherwood and Churchill 60 years ago.

The entire review is astounding, but wow, that's some impressive hackwork, right there.

Comments

[Righteous Bubba]

Unfortunately -- and here Feith is critical of his ultimate boss, George W. Bush -- the administration allowed its critics to frame the issue around the fact that stockpiles of weapons weren't found. Here we see at work the liberal fallacy, apparent in debates on gun control, that weapons are the problem rather than the people with the capability and will to use them to kill others.

Gee. Does this not make any old place worth invading if they meet some kinda "anti-American" standard?

[Nora]

Here we see the liberal fallacy that when a president frames the whole question of whether to go to war around the enemy's possessing weapons of mass destruction and the ability and desire to use them against us immediately, we actually take him at his word.

He's right -- how like us liberals to think that way. We won't do that again, don't worry.

[dms]

Wait, I guess I'm too liberal, but I don't get the point of the quoted paragraph in the first comment. Seems to me, whether talking WMD or guns, if the weapons don't exist, it's rather hard for the evil people to use them.

[aimai]

Oh, righteous bubba beat me to this, I liked that paragraph to:

Unfortunately -- and here Feith is critical of his ultimate boss, George W. Bush -- the administration allowed its critics to frame the issue around the fact that stockpiles of weapons weren't found. Here we see at work the liberal fallacy, apparent in debates on gun control, that weapons are the problem rather than the people with the capability and will to use them to kill others. The fact that millions of law-abiding Americans have guns is not a problem; the problem is that criminals can get them and have the will to kill others. Similarly, the fact that France has WMDs is not a problem; the fact that Saddam Hussein had the capability to produce WMDs and the will to use them against us was.

To which I'd add:
"similarly, the fact that the inuit people of togolonkukuak have neither wmd nor the interest in using them against us is proof positive that we should have attacked them, too."

aimai

[Davis]

Feith's job was to cherry pick evidence of WMDs out of a mountain of unanalyzed data and bypass normal intelligence channels. That was his assignment. The intent to mislead was there from the beginning. He and all the rest are war criminals in that they knowingly invaded a defenseless country that posed no threat to anyone. Anyone reading Sy Hersh in The New Yorker knew it. too.

[Righteous Bubba]

Seems to me, whether talking WMD or guns, if the weapons don't exist, it's rather hard for the evil people to use them.

It's the thoughtcrime that counts.

[rea]

Oh, I see, Mr. Feith--it doesn't matter if the Iraqis had weapons, because even if they didn't, they could always come over here and strangle us with their bare hands.

[r€nato]

"Dumbest motherfucker on the face of the Earth" apparently was not good enough for Feith; he's now vying for, "Dumbest motherfucker on the face of any planet in the multiverse".

[Jay B.]

If Feith is the dumbest motherfucker on the planet, what the fuck does that make his fluffer?

Staggering.

[r€nato]

Seems to me, whether talking WMD or guns, if the weapons don't exist, it's rather hard for the evil people to use them.

Your failure to comprehend Feith's unassailable logic is further proof that you are a Dirty Fucking Hippie™ and a profoundly Unserious Person.

[White Male, Jew of Liberal Fascism]

the administration allowed its critics to frame the issue around the fact that stockpiles of weapons weren't found.

Yes, and it was doubly unfair because the administration never, ever, ever framed the issue around those... whadyacallem? WMT's or something like that... I just can't remember any more.

[r€nato]

sorry; I wrote "Feith" instead of, "Barone".

[r€nato]

Barone's screed is further proof that no neo-con should ever be allowed anywhere near the levers of power. If they had their way, we'd be declaring war against anybody who so much as looks at us cross-wise.

[Alan]

Here we see at work the liberal fallacy, apparent in debates on gun control, that weapons are the problem rather than the people with the capability and will to use them to kill others.

I believe he's advocating the conservative position, that every American should be pre-emptively arrested, even if they don't have a gun.

[CapMidnight]

rather than the people with the capability and will to use them to kill others

Good thing we don't have any somewhat-elected officials with the capability and will to use weapons to kill others.

[IanY77]

Not so, as the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Silberman-Robb Commission have concluded already.

And here's the hackiest part of all. Neither of those commissions looked into intelligence politicization, they looked into intelligence failures. I've seen this bit of disinformation before.

[White Male, Jew of Liberal Fascism]

The fact that millions of law-abiding Americans have guns is not a problem; the problem is that criminals can get them and have the will to kill others.

You'll pardon this stupid question, but isn't it a fact that Seung-Hui Cho, prior to murdering 32 people, was a "law abiding American"?

[Jay B.]

You'll pardon this stupid question, but isn't it a fact that Seung-Hui Cho, prior to murdering 32 people, was a "law abiding American"?

Not only that, he was one of those brave souls who told The Man what's what and brought concealed weapons to campus, like those hayseeds think is necessary to protect oneself.

[Rich]

Here we see at work the liberal fallacy, apparent in debates on gun control, that weapons are the problem...

In 1835, Samuel Colt developed the revolver. Prior to that, yeah, someone could get drunk and start a fight with someone, but actually killing them proved to be a bit difficult. One can't really wield a knife with any effectiveness when one is sloshed.
BTW, Jon Stewart interviewed Feith last night. The TV show has a shortened version, but the full version is here.

[Invigilator]

It just keeps running through my head, ever since late 2002 -- "It's worse than a crime, it's a mistake."

[lovable liberal]

Shorter Michael Barone: There's still a chance that Mexico attacked Pearl Harbor and we should have invaded them.

[Bitter Scribe]

Nixon used to compare himself to Lincoln a lot, especially as the screws of Watergate tightened. That was bad enough, but these guys not leaving the corpse of poor old Winston Churchill alone is worse.

[rea]

these guys not leaving the corpse of poor old Winston Churchill alone is worse.

On the contrary, Churchill committed war crimes in support of a blundering, disastrous occupation of Iraq. Deployed poisoned gas against Kurdish villagers. . .

[Bitter Scribe]

@rea: Oh, Churchill was far from a saint. He barely even thought of the Indians as human beings, for one thing. These guys reflect Churchill's failings far more than they reflect his courage and clarity of vision.