The NYT's Defeatism

Victor Davis Hanson, writing in New York’s City Journal:

On July 8, the New York Times ran an historic editorial entitled “The Road Home,” demanding an immediate American withdrawal from Iraq. It is rare that an editorial gets almost everything wrong, but “The Road Home” pulls it off. Consider, point by point, its confused—and immoral—defeatism.

I saw the NYT editorial in question this past Sunday. It seemed like the entire ‘sphere was on about it, in one way or another (Shorter Left: “See? Told ya so!” Shorter Right: “Typical NYT. Terrorist lovers/enablers!”), so how could one miss it? As VDH notes, the editorial was “historic,” and not in a good way. I chose not to blog about this, but simply shook my head and thought “this really, really sucks.” The editorial, speaking as it does to the NYT’s core constituency (Blue America), certainly didn’t speak for me or to me…other than to demonstrate, as VDH notes, the sheer immorality of preaching defeat while the war is still in progress, not to mention the fact that the US’s new strategy has just now begun to be fully implemented and, oh-by-the-way, is showing positive results. As to the last point, VDH says:

We promised General Petraeus a hearing in September; it would be the height of folly to preempt that agreement by giving in to our summer of panic and despair. Critics called for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a change in command in Iraq and at Centcom, new strategies, and more troops. But now that we have a new secretary, a new command in Iraq and at Centcom, new strategies, and more troops, suddenly we have a renewed demand for withdrawal before the agreed-upon September accounting—suggesting that the only constant in such harping was the assumption that Iraq was either hopeless or not worth the effort.

The “summer of panic and despair.” Interesting phraseology, that. I don’t think we —the nation— are in a “panic and despair” mode. I think Bush’s foes, and they are legion, smell blood in the water and are moving in for the kill. Panic and despair are just two emotions Bush’s enemies are using to manipulate public opinion into backing a premature withdrawal. It appears the strategy is working, now that the NYT has officially, rather than tacitly, signed on. It's a damned shame that Bush's political enemies are putting their partisan interests ahead of the nation's best interests. I never thought I'd see the day...

It’s getting uglier and uglier. And it certainly isn’t easy or fun being a member of that 30% or so of Americans who simply aren’t willing or able to accept an American defeat in Iraq. Especially when it looks like we can win it, if we want to. And that’s become the salient question: Do we want to win? It sure doesn’t look like it…

And now, Gentle Reader, I have to go out to Cannon Air Plane Patch for a doctor’s appointment. I’ll be back later.