The Absurd Report

Over at The Corner, some of my colleagues are in, well, near full retreat. The democracy project doesn’t work. We didn’t use enough force. We should talk to Iran and Syria for it’s not the same as negotiations.

What has changed on the ground in the last few weeks? Nothing, really. But people appear to be spooked by the election, some of which turned on the war. Or maybe it was Henry Kissinger’s urging discussions with Iran and Syria (although Jimmy Carter has been demanding discussions — or is it negotiations — for some time). Maybe it’s the leaks about the coming Iraq study group which will supposedly urge discussions, among other things, as well.

Kissinger was the architect of “detente.” It was a failed doctrine that involved carrots, sticks, endless discussions/negotiations, etc. I dare say the Soviet Union would still be around, and the Cold War ongoing, had Reagan not rejected it. Jimmy Carter spent much of the second half of his presidency discussing/negotiating with the same Iranian fascists he urges Bush to engage today. He was a miserable failure. James Baker is a flawed thinker and strategist as well. His contempt for Israel is well-known and creates blind-spots. Moreover, when we had 500,000 troops in Iraq, as Christopher Hitchens has written, Baker-Scowcroft-Powell refused to resolve the problem of Saddam Hussein and his ability to support terrorism, build weapons, etc.

Nobody is talking about victory. We had many very severe setbacks during all of our major wars, from the Revolutionary and Civil Wars to World Wars I and II. Our country brought together the greatest minds NOT to devise ways to hold discussions/negotiations with the enemy, but to develop strategies to defeat them. That doesn’t exist today, or if it does, those voices are drowned out by a variety of “I told you so” claims. Other than a few lone voices, led by our own Michael Ledeen, where are the discussions about taking down the regime in Iran (a Jimmy Carter creation)? Most distressing, we hear nothing about this from any elected leaders of either party. Yet, that’s the surest way to ensure victory in Iraq, is it not?

Source: The Mark Levin Blog