From the Archives: Why were so many in power so silent? (March 20, 2007)
This story originally appeared in The Daily Tar Heel.
Why were so many in power so silent?
By David Donovan
March 20, 2007
It's amazing how much things change in four years. As you've likely already heard, the Iraq war started four years ago today, on March 20, 2003. March 20, 2003, is also the title I chose to accompany this column each week. It's also the publication date of a column I wrote for a previous employer.
On the day the drumbeats of war reached their peak, I published my gravest reservations about our misadventure. I did not believe the claims of ties between Saddam and al-Qaida or WMD factories or the proposed cost in dollars or American lives, or this administration's motives or competency to execute such a mission. Each fear proved well-founded.
This isn't ground for self-congratulation, as there were many people, most smarter than I, who sounded the same warnings. But it is proof that it didn't take a genius to see well in advance the many holes in Bush's half a plan.
It's amazing how much things change in four years. Speaking out against the war was once an act of some courage. Many leaders who darn well should have known better were cowed into silence. I had my patriotism questioned, which was especially wounding because it was my patriotism that compelled me to speak out in the first place.
Today it takes no courage to criticize that decision. Even those who were once cheerleaders for the war now scramble to get on the right side of history's judgment. It's now the political equivalent of piling on, of kicking a guy when he's down, so I won't pen 600 words berating this administration.
They are so far isolated from reality that all we can do is wait patiently for time to dislodge them. My greater disappointment is with those who were suckered or scared into complicity four years ago.
Life comes at you fast. Sen. Hillary Clinton now says that if she knew then what we know now, she would not have voted for the war.
That is an inexcusable cop-out. Lots of us saw that Bush's sales pitch didn't add up, and without Clinton's unique access to highly informed counsel. The only thing we didn't know then was that a senator could vote against the war and still have a chance to be elected president.
Irony is a cruel sadist, and she sure hates politicians. Now the Democrats who voted to authorize the war to preserve their presidential ambitions now feel the weight of that vote dragging those ambitions down.
I understand that many of them were acting in their honest best judgment, but those who did compromise their principles for political gain and greased the war machine now see their just results.
At least irony stung Bush hard, too. This war was pursued for political gain, and at first his approval climbed and his image as commander in chief clearly bought him a second term. But, oh, how they fall. Today his approval nears historic lows, and historians already discuss his place among America's worst presidents. (Somewhere in Hell, James Buchanan sighs with relief.)
And it's amazing how much Iraq has changed in four years. Centuries of ethnic tension that simmered under Saddam now boil over for Bush, descending into a spiral of chaos that is beyond our ability to control and without end in sight. We've achieved the unfathomable: We've made Iraq more violent and dangerous than it was under Saddam and set back our own vision for democracy, possibly for decades.
There's a lot to learn from the past four years, and not just the folly of trying to impose Western-style democracy on the whole world. For the umpteenth time, history proved how vital it is to voice one's conscience, even when it is unpopular or difficult, and to listen to those who do. The sands of public opinion shift too rapidly to stand on, anyway.
Why were so many in power so silent?
By David Donovan
March 20, 2007
It's amazing how much things change in four years. As you've likely already heard, the Iraq war started four years ago today, on March 20, 2003. March 20, 2003, is also the title I chose to accompany this column each week. It's also the publication date of a column I wrote for a previous employer.
On the day the drumbeats of war reached their peak, I published my gravest reservations about our misadventure. I did not believe the claims of ties between Saddam and al-Qaida or WMD factories or the proposed cost in dollars or American lives, or this administration's motives or competency to execute such a mission. Each fear proved well-founded.
This isn't ground for self-congratulation, as there were many people, most smarter than I, who sounded the same warnings. But it is proof that it didn't take a genius to see well in advance the many holes in Bush's half a plan.
It's amazing how much things change in four years. Speaking out against the war was once an act of some courage. Many leaders who darn well should have known better were cowed into silence. I had my patriotism questioned, which was especially wounding because it was my patriotism that compelled me to speak out in the first place.
Today it takes no courage to criticize that decision. Even those who were once cheerleaders for the war now scramble to get on the right side of history's judgment. It's now the political equivalent of piling on, of kicking a guy when he's down, so I won't pen 600 words berating this administration.
They are so far isolated from reality that all we can do is wait patiently for time to dislodge them. My greater disappointment is with those who were suckered or scared into complicity four years ago.
Life comes at you fast. Sen. Hillary Clinton now says that if she knew then what we know now, she would not have voted for the war.
That is an inexcusable cop-out. Lots of us saw that Bush's sales pitch didn't add up, and without Clinton's unique access to highly informed counsel. The only thing we didn't know then was that a senator could vote against the war and still have a chance to be elected president.
Irony is a cruel sadist, and she sure hates politicians. Now the Democrats who voted to authorize the war to preserve their presidential ambitions now feel the weight of that vote dragging those ambitions down.
I understand that many of them were acting in their honest best judgment, but those who did compromise their principles for political gain and greased the war machine now see their just results.
At least irony stung Bush hard, too. This war was pursued for political gain, and at first his approval climbed and his image as commander in chief clearly bought him a second term. But, oh, how they fall. Today his approval nears historic lows, and historians already discuss his place among America's worst presidents. (Somewhere in Hell, James Buchanan sighs with relief.)
And it's amazing how much Iraq has changed in four years. Centuries of ethnic tension that simmered under Saddam now boil over for Bush, descending into a spiral of chaos that is beyond our ability to control and without end in sight. We've achieved the unfathomable: We've made Iraq more violent and dangerous than it was under Saddam and set back our own vision for democracy, possibly for decades.
There's a lot to learn from the past four years, and not just the folly of trying to impose Western-style democracy on the whole world. For the umpteenth time, history proved how vital it is to voice one's conscience, even when it is unpopular or difficult, and to listen to those who do. The sands of public opinion shift too rapidly to stand on, anyway.
posted by Ithakid | 10:25 AM
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