Via DailyPundit, this short Time.com interview with Dennis Miller:
Explain how the war in Iraq makes sense to you as a response to 9/11.
Like there’s no chance that the secular state of Iraq and Islamic fundamentalists cohabitate? They both think we’re Satan. How about that as a nice point of departure for them car-pooling? I wish there was a country called al-Qaedia that we could have invaded, but there wasn’t. (Saddam was) the only one who had a home address.
A lot of California Republicans want you to run for Senate. Will you?
At some point that involves moving to Washington, D.C., sitting in a room all day with a moron like Barbara Boxer. I’m just not interested. I like open minds, and I think in Washington right now, we might as well start painting those people red and blue.
Heh.
JKC
So Miller says “I wish there was a country called al-Qaedia that we could have invaded, but there wasn’t.”
Actually, for those who weren’t paying attention, that country was called Afghanistan, and some of us based our opposition to Iraq on the belief that we should have finished the job there first.
Ricky
Just like we shouldn’t spend money on prescription drugs until we finish the war on poverty?
It is possible to have a military presence in places other than Afghanistan. I know the new talking points is that, but unless there was some call for further presence in Afghanistan, going into Iraq, or Iran, or Saudi Arabia, or staying at home & doing exercises makes no difference on what happens in Afghanistan.
Being against the war is fine, but let’s use points that the military folks don’t laugh at.
Andrew Lazarus
We currently have fewer than 15,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, which is both larger and more populous than Iraq. Needless to say, almost the entire country is under control of the same warlords as before, whose allegiance is transient.
I’m not aware of the military laughing at the idea we should have a larger presence there, and I’d appreciate a link. JKC is absolutely right that there was a country called Al Qaedia (so to speak), and it isn’t completely eradicated.
Al Qaeda saw the USA as Satan. Iraq didn’t; they once were our allies. Their hatred of the USA wasn’t visceral, but was based on what we did to them in Gulf War One, and would have been reversed if for some hard-to-fathom geopolitical reason (new Iranian resurgence?), we had relaxed our hosility. Miller’s glib “Well they might have” is a terrifying debasement of standards for launching a war.
Ricky
Andrew,
I’ve seen individual soldiers state that one more (or 5,000 more) soldiers in Afghanistan wouldn’t change a thing — every mission that is launched is successful.
Would it make folks feel better if we shipped of 50,000 troops to sit in Afghanistan, for no good reason?
Or, do YOU have missions that should be undertaken there that somehow haven’t been launched & would take more troops?
Sean
“I wish there was a country called al-Qaedia that we could have invaded, but there wasn’t. (Saddam was) the only one who had a home address. ”
ah yes…the white male inferiority complex…i’m all scared, my four SUV garage is in danger from some terrorists…i know what to do, “we” (meaning other people and their sons) should go into battle and hit somebody, so i can feel “strong” and “proud” of myself again. It’s pathetic and ignorant, but the GOP is damn good at scaring the shit out of suburban and blue collar whites with this “bear in the woods” security garbage, even when it’s not based in reality. America hurt? We’ll just fire back at someone, who cares if they aren’t connected! Who cares about unintended consequences! Who cares about the money! Hell, it’s not like I’m sacrificing with any higher taxes or my own life..
Andrew Lazarus
Well, Ricky, someone fired rockets into Kabul this morning. No damage, so I guess ‘successful’ just depends on how you measure.
JKC
Ricky-
Karzai has no real control of his country outside the city limits of Kabul, and can’t go out for a newspaper without Special Forces bodyguards. Meanwhile, the Taliban are resurgent in places, and, in case you missed it, someone tried to kill Pervex Musharref in Pakistan. I’m glad you’re not in charge if that’s your definition of success.
And BTW, if the Right is going to use comedians for intellectual guidance, could you bring back PJ O’Rourke? At least he’s funny…
greg
Wow, it took seven whole posts before we got to the “Dennis Miller isn’t funny” stuff.
It’s amazing how he stopped being funny right around the time he started to realize that not every Republican is satan.
Kong
Ah yes the tired ‘Angry White Heterosexual Male’ bleat of the left. Yes, those damn White Heterosexual Males should know their place and shut the hell up. Only leftist-approved minorities are allowed to be angry about anything.
Yes those AWM and Jews should just die; how dare they be concerned about possible assaults against them?
/Sarcasm Off
BTW: A Democrat saying that Republicans are good at scaring people for votes is like the proverbial Pot calling the Kettle Black.
James W
It seems Mr. Miller and Jonah Goldberg are kindred ideological spirits (both wishing simply to fuck up SOMEBODY over there…)
From NRO Online’s The Corner:
http://www.nationalreview.com/goldberg/goldberg042302.asp
“But, since everyone’s looking for a single persuasive equation, I should say the kicker for me was simple: We needed to kick someone’s butt (other than Afghanistan) and Iraq was by far the best candidate. Indeed, nearly a full year before the war – in April of 2002 – I wrote: “The United States needs to go to war with Iraq because it needs to go to war with someone in the region and Iraq makes the most sense.”
Wonderful, guys.
Sweet Lou
Wait…you mean that there are decent human beings who HAVEN’T wanted to “fuck up” Saddam and his gang of thugs “over there”?
Also, is being scared of a terrorist threat really just a symptom of a “white male inferiority complex”? I thought it more of a “pretty smart response to a proven threat” sort of thing.
How about women who feel this way? Are they repressed lesbians with the added burden of inferiority complexes? It seems so unfair to them. How come the oppressive patriarchy gets it own neurosis, but they don’t?
JKC
JKC, let me know when we get troops into DC.
How many troops would’ve kept the bomb from going off & how many would keep an assassination attempt from happening?
I ask again, would 50K troops sitting in Afghanistan make you feel better. Hey, I’m all for extra soldiers if they’re needed. The experts don’t seem to think they’re needed, from what I’ve seen.
James W
I think the point is that to the extent we’re talking about a response to 9/11, we ought to at least go after the right people.
It may come to be shown that Saddam was indeed linked to that tragic day, but thus far even the White House has acknowledged no such evidence exists.
You can shift rationales and point to how terrible an actor Saddam was in the Middle East(and you’d be right, as far as it goes), but if that’s our justification for war, settle in for literally a century or more of it the world over.
Adam
The mission to capture Osama Bin Laden went oh so well!
Thousands of troops were committed solely to finding Saddam. It seems the same commitement isn’t being made in OBL’s case.
Kimmitt
“The experts don’t seem to think they’re needed, from what I’ve seen.”
This is not my understanding; the reading I’ve done seems to be that many experts feel that we could use significantly more troops in Afghanistan, but that Rumsfeld has not committed them for various reasons.
drew
Miller is another pro-war libertarian jumping on the Bush bandwagon. Judging by this looks like Miller won’t help Bush fight the a culture war.
Lets say if, hypothetically, Bush were to run a campaign based on hard-right cultural postitions would people like Glenn and Miller drop their support or at least be less enthusiastic about the president?
btw, read that Yglesias post very interesting. Sully, Genn, and Cole(maybe) all pro-war cultural moderates.
Ricky
Oops, I seem to have signed “JKC” — sorry, that was from me, above.
And Matt’s back on the “Atrios is really a moderate” meme. No surprise, Drum is carrying the water, as well.