In the world of professional punditry, heavy-hitters like [tag]David Broder[/tag] and [tag]Thomas Friedman[/tag] not only help reflect the [tag]conventional wisdom[/tag], they help shape it. The mainstream political world considers their opinions as the most serious and credible perspectives in the country, and in turn, their points of view become synonymous with sensibility.
And right now, both want out of [tag]Iraq[/tag].
Yesterday, Broder, the “dean” of DC’s political reporters, strongly suggested the need to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq, arguing that the “logic of prolonging the agony” can no longer withstand scrutiny.
Today, [tag]Friedman[/tag], whose name has become synonymous with an overly-patient approach to the war, is finally fed up as well.
It is now obvious that we are not midwifing democracy in Iraq. We are baby-sitting a civil war.
When our top commander in Iraq, Gen. John Abizaid, tells a Senate Committee, as he did yesterday, that “the sectarian violence is probably as bad as I’ve seen it,” it means that three years of efforts to democratize Iraq are not working. That means “staying the course” is pointless, and it’s time to start thinking about Plan B — how we might disengage with the least damage possible.
It seemed to me over the last three years that, even with all the Bush team’s missteps, we had to give our Iraqi partners a chance to produce a transitional government, then write a constitution, then hold an election and then, finally, put together their first elected cabinet. But now they have done all of that — and the situation has only worsened.
Friedman concludes, “The longer we maintain a unilateral failing strategy in Iraq, the harder it will be to build such a coalition, and the stronger the enemies of freedom will become.”
Welcome to the new sensible, centrist position on Iraq. The political mainstream has finally caught up with the Democratic mainstream. It’s about time.