Please forgive us for your war

A couple of our commenters seem to have convinced themselves that it is the opponents of the Iraq War who are to blame for it.

I guess it's kind of like the guy who Dick Cheney shot in the face apologizing to Cheney. Gee, we thought invading Iraq was a terrible idea. So we apologize to those who cheered the war. Please forgive us for the war you cheered for.

I don't think Gene Lyons will buy it, though:

"I also saw a threat in Iraq," [Bush] said. "I was hoping to solve this problem diplomatically. That's why I went to the Security Council; that's why it was important to pass [U. N. Resolution ] 1441, which was unanimously passed. And the world said disarm, disclose or face serious consequences.... [W ]e worked to make sure that Saddam Hussein heard the message of the world. And when he chose to deny inspectors, when he chose not to disclose, then I had the difficult decision to make to remove him."

Alas, this is false. Regardless of his other sins, Saddam did admit United Nations inspectors. Surely even the most perfervid Bush supporters recall the weeks leading up to the March 2003 invasion when self-styled patriots mocked U. N. weapons experts led by Swedish diplomat Hans Blix and Moroccan nuclear arms expert Mohamed ElBaradei. U. N. teams visited sites all over Iraq, finding no sign of forbidden weapons of mass destruction before Bush began his "shock and awe" bombing campaign.

All these events happened amid a uniquely American version of George Orwell's "Two Minutes Hate," with restaurant owners pouring French wine into gutters, french fries dubbed "freedom fries" and country singers in cowboy hats denouncing the Dixie Chicks for displaying insufficient reverence for Bush. Don't tell me you’ve forgotten, because you haven't. (my emphasis)

(More on "the flip")


Lyons doesn't think much of the media-stab-in-the-back theory that Bush and the FOXists are pushing:

A soldier's wife at one of Bush's Republicans-only town hall meetings - duly televised on CNN, of course - drew thunderous applause for suggesting that the biased news media only wanted to show bloodshed.

Lyons is taking a dig at CNN for reporting on what was effectively a campaign commercial as though it were a news event.

What planet do these people live on? Have they forgotten how the "embedded" media portrayed the Iraq war's opening days as an extended Boy Scout Jamboree? The fawning coverage given Bush's "Top Gun" aircraft carrier stunt in May 2003? Recent Iraqi elections drew highly favorable coverage, although no government's been formed three months later.

Alas, when 30 beheaded bodies are found on Baghdad streets, that's news. ... Having sold the Iraq war like a cinematic melodrama - a quick, decisive action/adventure revenge tale - the administration finds itself dealing with an American public ill-prepared for the dirty, bloody work of a prolonged occupation. Blaming the messenger's not going to change that a bit.

So, war fans, please, please forgive us war opponents for the disaster that your war has turned into.

Hey, while we're at it, we should apologize to all our "press corps" who did such a lousy job reporting on the build-up to the war. Especially Judith Miller. Judy, Judy, can you ever find it in your heart to forgive us for the fact that you put all your phony, flaky stories about Iraqi WMDs on the front page of the New York Times to make propaganda for the war? Please, someday can you forgive us?

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