PrintSeptember 26, 2007
As the Surge Succeeds
One of the benefits of Petraeus-Crocker hearings is the way they've cleared up the miasma of defeatism and futility that settled over the topic of Iraq since the beginning of this year. Much of this was produced by MoveOn, the media, and advantage-hunting Democratic pols, but it was also implicit in a lot of commentary from the war's supporters as well. (e.g., the habit of ending each announcement of good news with some line such as, "of course, there's a long way to go" or "we've still got a hard road ahead". This solecism is common among everyone from W on down, and amounts to jabbing a nail in your own tire.)The danger with chronic pessimism is that it often acts as self-fulfilling prophecy. Such attitudes are not neutral factors. Whereas optimism, justified or not, may well carry you though despite the facts of a situation, an overly bleak assessment by its very nature induces hesitation, second thoughts, and timidity. The war's opponents in the political and...(Read Full Article)
