Quote:
Originally posted by Spanky
The sarcasm in your post seems to indicate that most of the people, or at least many people that are opposed to the war, take the view of option two.
In order for someone to fit into option two they would have to:
1) think that even a somewhat stable somewhat Democractic government in Iraq would be an almost invaluable benefit and asset for the Iraqi people, the people of the Middle East and the United States.
2) They would have to truly believe that pulling out our troops now would make that scenario more likely than if we kept them there. In other words keeping our presense there, increasing our presnence there, or someother option would make achieving that goal less likely than if we pulled out now.
Unless they complied with those two factors it seems to me that they fall into option one. I don't know many people who have opposed the war or who are for an immediate or gradual but fast pullout that fall into the latter catagory . I think this is pretty easy to tell if they do by the way they complain about the war.
How many people have you heard say, "it is extremely important that we succeed in Iraq, and the best strategy for achieving success is pulling out." Can you name more than three?
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Of course, you didn't answer my question, which went to how you can tell that pundits who want us to pull out are acting for the wrong reasons (dishonesty, stupidity, partisanship, etc.) rather than the right reasons. And, as Sidd suggested, the answer is that you can't. You just ascribe the worst of motives to those who disagree with you.
As for your 1), I disagree. Iran is somewhat stable and somewhat democratic, and it is not an asset for us. A somewhat stable, somewhat democratic Iraq that allied with Iran would hardly be invaluable for us.
I guess our disagreement makes me a lying, moronic, partisan traitor, right?
As for your 2), there are plenty of people out there saying these things, but I guess you just haven't been paying attention. It's simpler just to accuse them of wanting to cut and run.
As for your last question, I am aware of no one who thinks that our Iraq policy is unimportant, but many who think that there are no longer many good options. Which is to say that there are plenty of people who believe -- for the right reasons -- that the best course for America is to pull out.
As I've said before, I'm actually not sure which side I come down on, which is another way of saying that there are no longer many good options.
