The government’s policy in Iraq, if you can call it an actual “policy,” is failing. Iraq is falling apart, violence is overwhelming, and there’s little relief in sight.
Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sees these developments and wants us to know one thing: this is all good news.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that the deadly insurgency that flared this month is “a symptom of the success that we’re having here in Iraq” and an effort to undermine the country’s transition to self-government.
Asked at a news conference here whether the military had failed to counter insurgents’ attacks in Iraq, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said guerrillas want to undermine several political successes, including the creation of the Iraqi Governing Council, the signing of a bill of rights and efforts by the United Nations to devise an interim government that would assume power on June 30.
“I think it’s that success which is driving the current situation, because there are those extremists that don’t want that success,” Myers said. “They see this as a test of wills, a test of resolve against those who believe in freedom and self-determination against those who prefer a regime like we saw previously in Afghanistan, or perhaps a regime like we saw previously in Iraq.”
This rhetorical approach was popular last year and I hadn’t realized it had come back into fashion so quickly.
To hear the Bush administration tell it, if Iraq is stable and peaceful, and U.S. forces are making progress towards establishing an independent government, this is a sign of success. If Iraq is unstable and violent, and U.S. forces are under increasing attack, this, too, is a sign of success. Either way, no matter what, everything’s fine and our policies are working.
I’m so glad Gen. Myers cleared this up for us.