The Iraq war is clearly confusing Democrats. They declared it lost, pushed for the U.S. to withdraw, denied progress, and now have turned to trying to explain the progress. And the one possibility that seems to have been ruled out is that U.S. troops may have played some part. Why is that notion so hard to accept? Here’s Congressman David Obey–who’s smart enough to know better:
Obey says the violence in Iraq has abated because “they’re running out of people to kill.” Does anyone doubt that if U.S. troops left, Iraq’s insurgents would suddenly find plenty? Even the editors at the New York Times conceded as much in their call for withdrawal this summer, saying that “Americans must be clear that Iraq, and the region around it, could be even bloodier and more chaotic after Americans leave. There could be reprisals against those who worked with American forces, further ethnic cleansing, even genocide.” No serious person believes that a withdrawal of U.S. forces won’t run the risk of allowing a full-scale genocide in Iraq–so maybe Obey isn’t a serious person.
