Bob Kerrey invokes 9/11 to justify invading Iraq. Harold Ford calls it today's Spotlight idea.

[madfloridian]

Harold Ford's DLC links to it from its new Ideas Primary which is replacing the Blueprint Magazine. Actually it is today's Spotlight.

Ideas Primary: The Left's Iraq Muddle.

It was an opinion piece in the WSJ by New School president and Democrat, Bob Kerrey.

I would say to Mr. Kerrey that any excuse is a good one when you just can't make stuff up anymore. When it's all falling down around you, any old excuse will do.

No matter how incompetent the Bush administration and no matter how poorly they chose their words to describe themselves and their political opponents, Iraq was a larger national security risk after Sept. 11 than it was before. And no matter how much we might want to turn the clock back and either avoid the invasion itself or the blunders that followed, we cannot. The war to overthrow Saddam Hussein is over. What remains is a war to overthrow the government of Iraq.

The Left's Iraq Muddle

See what I mean? Still trying to connect Iraq to 9/11, even doing it in such an ingenuous way.

He goes on to say that:

Yes, it is central to the fight against Islamic radicalism.

Now the ultimate stretch...perhaps if we had not gone after Saddam, the Shiites or Kurds might have done so. Unbelievable. Then he gives us liberals a lecture.

Suppose we had not invaded Iraq and Hussein had been overthrown by Shiite and Kurdish insurgents. Suppose al Qaeda then undermined their new democracy and inflamed sectarian tensions to the same level of violence we are seeing today. Wouldn't you expect the same people who are urging a unilateral and immediate withdrawal to be urging military intervention to end this carnage? I would.

American liberals need to face these truths: The demand for self-government was and remains strong in Iraq despite all our mistakes and the violent efforts of al Qaeda, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias to disrupt it. Al Qaeda in particular has targeted for abduction and murder those who are essential to a functioning democracy: school teachers, aid workers, private contractors working to rebuild Iraq's infrastructure, police officers and anyone who cooperates with the Iraqi government. Much of Iraq's middle class has fled the country in fear.

Mr. Kerrey, are you aware that the middle class fled Iraq, their home country because of fear of us? How dare you justify our invasion by spouting such nonsense.

Here is a little about the horrible things we did in Fallujah. I hear we are about to do the same things to Sadr City. We apparently killed civilians indiscrimately and did not do body counts. Read all about it.

"Send in the Clown"...a look at the horrors we did in Fallujah.

I have been very upset all day about the games our Democrats and Republicans are playing with the lives of the military over an invasion based on lies.

Reading your column was the final straw today, and my anger is overwhelming.