Of all the journalists who’ve been reporting from Iraq for years now, CNN’s Michael Ware has been one of the standouts, in part because he’s been willing to call “b.s.” against supporters of the Bush administration’s policy.
In October 2006, after Condi Rice gave an upbeat assessment of Iraq, Ware told viewers, “Secretary Rice is so far divorced from that reality that she couldn’t possibly hope to understand it.” In March 2007, after John McCain insisted that Gen. David Petraeus travels around Iraq “almost every day in a non-armed Humvee,” and belittled anyone who disagreed, Ware told viewers that McCain’s credibility on Iraq has been “left out hanging to dry.” In July 2007, after Joe Lieberman said, “The enemy is on the run in Iraq,” Ware told viewers, “[U]nfortunately, I’m afraid that Senator Lieberman has taken an excursion into fantasy.”
Comments like these drew the ire of conservatives, who made Ware out to be a liberal villain, but the irony is, Ware actually took a firm stand against withdrawal of U.S. troops. He called timelines for withdrawal “delusional,” saying it would undermine U.S. “national security interests.” He didn’t criticize Rice, McCain, and Lieberman because he preferred a different war policy; he criticized them for being dishonest and misleading Americans about realities in Iraq — even though he agreed with what they wanted to do.
Interestingly enough, after taking a firm stand against withdrawal last year, Ware, who’s been reporting from Baghdad since before the invasion began, told the Center for American Progress this week that staying in Iraq “could actually ferment further resentment” towards the U.S.
In an interview yesterday, Ware told ThinkProgress that “there will be very much mixed reaction in Iraq” to a long-term troop presence, but he added, “what’s the point and will it be worth it?’
“A limited American capability” stationed in the country would be exposed, said Ware, “to a whole host of dangers” and “could actually ferment further resentment towards the United States.”
In other words, McCain’s 100-year plan wouldn’t help.
Ware also had an interesting perspective on Fred Kagan, who has repeatedly argued that ethnic cleansing is in no way responsible for a decline in violence in Iraq.
Ware explained:
“The sectarian cleansing of Baghdad has been — albeit tragic — one of the key elements to the drop in sectarian violence in the capital. […] It’s a very simple concept: Baghdad has been divided; segregated into Sunni and Shia enclaves. The days of mixed neighborhoods are gone. […] If anyone is telling you that the cleansing of Baghdad has not contributed to the fall in violence, then they either simply do not understand Baghdad or they are lying to you.”
I guess this means the right will go back to hating Ware again.