September 21, 2004

George Will on Allawi

Matt Yglesias rightly notes that George Will's latest column shows that not even all fervent Republicans can continually lie about the charade that Iraq is not, at this time, "sovereign". But I think there are two other parts of that column that also warrant attention - one for substance, one for humor.

Most importantly, it's clear that Will is among those who see serious problems with the conduct of the war so far and are very pessimistic about its future. Consider this:

When President Bush proclaims, as he regularly does, that "freedom is on the march," he cannot be thinking of Russia. Across its 11 time zones, freedom is in retreat, again.

When Allawi addresses a joint session of Congress Thursday, he will stand where British Prime Minister Tony Blair stood in July 2003 to proclaim that it is a "myth" that American and British "attachment to freedom is a product of our culture" -- a myth that "freedom, democracy, human rights, the rule of law" are Western rather than universal values. Allawi will not say anything less plausible to an audience that is sadder, and perhaps wiser, than it was 14 months ago.

But if that gets you too depressed or sad and you think he's just a big meanie who refuses to recognize the bravery and vision of W - or if you just need a nice little chuckle - Will also writes this: "Time will tell whether Allawi will ride the whirlwind or be consumed by it -- whether he will be Iraq's Alexander Kerensky. Allawi certainly seems tougher than that mild Russian who briefly held power in Russia in 1917". Stating that a thug like Allawi is tougher than Kerensky is one of the understatements of the year.

Posted by armand at September 21, 2004 01:39 PM | TrackBack | Posted to International Affairs


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