I had to spend last night on the road, making a quick two-day dash from Denver to New York. In my hotel room, I flipped through the channels, looking to catch up on the news that I had missed while moving across the great empty spaces of the plains. I was groggy, but I was still aware enough to be shocked when I saw the following words displayed on the yellow theme bar of the Fox News channel: “Iraq Civil War: A Good Thing?”
I could only bear to stay tuned to Fox News for a few minutes, but in that few minutes, I heard the Republican-friendly Fox News commentator actually proposing that a civil war would be just what Iraq needs, because it would give the Iraq government the chance to finally stand up and be responsible for imposing order on the country. It was a real mind trip for me to hear the Republicans depicting the Iraqis as Welfare Queens, who were suffering under war only because America was trying to help them out. The Republicans were the ones who suggested invading and occupying Iraq in the first place so I’m not sure who they found to blame. Big government? Communists? Environmentalists? Barbara Streisand?
Take a moment to consider how low the Republican standards for success in Iraq have become: They’re now concluding that America will have succeeded in Iraq if Iraq descends into total chaos. Chaos is constructive, you see.
For those Americans who are tempted to follow along with the suggestion of Fox News that Iraqi security is best established through a bloody crackdown, let’s remember that Saddam Hussein established order in Iraq in just the same way. Is the Republican Party now only looking for a Hussein-like replacement for Iraq?
