NOT A DEBACLE

. . .I was wrong. I fell for it. I thought that the (predictable) post-euphoria wave of war criticism should be taken at face value, and that the war was becoming a debacle. If military success means causing the Iraqi army to dissolve, then the U.S. has had military success here, and with fewer casualties than many had predicted. Given that the administration decided on war (a long way back, apparently), quicker victory is better than longer, protracted battles, particularly with respect to civilian casualties.

I am happy that people celebrate Saddam's ouster, as well. Saddam's rule appears to have been truly awful; the pictures of statues falling and people welcoming American troops were, in fact, stirring for me, and I have never been to Iraq.

The more people celebrate, the higher the expectations for the post-war order, and the higher the pressures on the adminstration to actually follow through on promises of aid. I've already given the reasons why I'm skeptical that the administration is serious on this score, or that any long-term commitment (in a desirable direction) is likely to be an aspect of American foreign policy, so I'm happy when the U.S. seems to be locked in, publicly, to a serious reconstruction effort. Let me just add another reason why I'm skeptical, though: the more that Congressional Republicans talk about "God's freedom" for Iraqis, the more the tensions in the Republican position will become evident, and when faced with a future Algeria-like choice, should this come to pass, between a stable autocracy and an islamic democracy, Americans will be tempted to choose the former. For some, "God's freedom" is only really possible in a Christian nation anyway. The U.S. response to Turkey is, so far, a counterexample. Let's hope that the case of Turkey is generalizable.