“By showing the true nature of the US occupation, the photos may have broken the rush to wider war and the return to military conscription. Polls released at the end of April show that a majority of Americans had soured on the war prior to the torture story. The photographic evidence that US troops are committing atrocities will further reduce support for the war. The impact on the Muslim world will be different. For decades extremists have called the US “the Great Satan.” The US invasion and violent occupation of Iraq have given credibility to this characterization of America.” – conservative anti-war polemicist, Paul Craig Roberts.
A MARRIAGE DEBATE: As the days tick by before civil marriage for all citizens arrives in America, here’s an audio link to a debate between me, former congressman Bob Barr, Matthew Spaulding of the Heritage Foundation, and Phil Munoz of AEI. It was hosted by the America’s Future Foundation, and it’s worth a listen, if you have time on your hands.
EMAIL OF THE DAY: “I share your misgivings over the most recent developments in Falluja, namely the pullback by US Marines and the handing over of responsibility to Iraqi troops of doubtful quality and staying power.
I think this may end up being one of the key turning points of this entire struggle. I think the Bush Administration just blinked and the insurgents know it. From now on they can be assured of relatively safe havens in certain urban areas of Iraq. They will be free to rebuild, rearm and reorganize unmolested by coalition troops. The only hope that the insurgents had all along was the belief that if they could just make it bloody enough, or at least make it look bloody enough, especially in terms of civilian casualties, Bush and the coalition would eventually waver. Now that belief has been vindicated.
Whatever short-term goodwill may be earned by these actions will be far outweighed by the long-term consequences for our goals in Iraq. We’ve missed out on a chance to wipe out a major threat to the future stability of Iraq and revitalized the very opponents we needed to eliminate. Even if these insurgents don’t re-emerge to attack the coalition between now and June 30, they will certainly strike at the best moment to demolish any emerging Iraqi government and it’s police and army. That will have far worse consequences than any of the combat that has taken place in the last month.
It’s possible the new direction in Falluja will be deemed a failure and US troops will return to finish the job. But that would mean paying more blood to recapture ground that should never have been given up. And it would cause more death, destruction and anger among Iraqis than if we had just finished the job we started instead of implementing this ill-advised course change.” – more feedback on the Letters Page.
The Dish 