(Paul Krugman via Atrios)
The polarizing event of this nation's recent history was a pointless war that has left us broke, exhausted, and less safe. But it was a mistake that the "serious" elites wanted to make, so it must not have been a mistake, eh?
One addendum to today’s column: the truth, which I think everyone in the political/media establishments knows in their hearts, is that the nine months or so between the summer of 2002 and the beginning of the Iraq insurgency were a great national moral test — a test that most people in influential positions failed.This is a very basic fact of the whole Iraq war experience. If you were questioning the logic that led us into that debacle, you were accused of being un-American, a traitor, and supporting the terrorists. Of course, you were also right, as history shows us, but let's forget all that . . . .
The Bush administration was obviously — yes, obviously — telling tall tales in order to promote the war it wanted: the constant insinuations of an Iraq-9/11 link, the hyping of discredited claims about a nuclear program, etc.. And the question was, should you stand up against that? Not many did — and those who did were treated as if they were crazy.
For me and many others that was a radicalizing experience; I’ll never trust “sensible” opinion again. But for those who stayed “sensible” through the test, it’s a moment they’d like to see forgotten. That, I believe, is the real reason so many want to let torture and everything else go down the memory hole.
Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.
The polarizing event of this nation's recent history was a pointless war that has left us broke, exhausted, and less safe. But it was a mistake that the "serious" elites wanted to make, so it must not have been a mistake, eh?
On to Afghanistan, bitches!!!
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