Victor Davis Hanson Interview
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James Joyner | Monday, January 10, 2005 |
John Hawkins has scored a second interview with Victor Davis Hanson.
VDH is still bullish on the Iraq War:
I think that if we look at it in the longer historical expanse from the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime and not concentrate on any two to three week period, then the idea that a year and a half after the regime was over with — weâd have elections pretty well under way and we would have over 2/3âs of the country pacified — then I know itâs a tragedy that weâve lost that many men, that was not unexpected — but given historyâs harsh judgment of other military operations and — weâre doing pretty well.
I think our main problem is that people donât understand the extent of the revolutionary endeavor that we undertook — that weâre really trying to bring democracy to a place where it just simply did not exist — and thereâs a lot of neutrals, enemies and allies that donât want that to happen — whether thatâs the Saudis or the Syrians or the Iranians, even the Jordanians. The second thing is we are empowering people whoâre the proverbially despised of the Arab world, namely the Kurds and the Shia.
While I agree with Hanson’s analysis so far as it goes, it’s not clear that the Administration understood the nature of the endeavor, either. Certainly, they were not advertising this level of chaos when selling the war.
Hanson also rejects the Vietnam analogy:
Well, thereâ only one modicum of comparison that works and that is whether the U.S. will continue to have the willpower and the tenacity to support a democratic government. We almost did in Vietnam and then right before the finish line we stopped, but otherwise the comparison doesnât make any sense. [...] Thereâs no draft; itâs not part of a national social movement. People try to make it that way — a social protest movement — Michael Moore, Noam Chomsky, these people — but it didnât find the resonance that the Vietnam protest movement did.
Hanson shares his thoughts on Iran, US-European relations, border security, and several other issues. He also promotes his new online journal, VDH’s Private Papers.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.
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Certainly, they were not advertising this level of chaos when selling the war.
To be fair, just who honestly expects "chaos" to be a selling point in favor of war?
And to be slightly less fair, who in their right minds honestly believed, even for a minute, that everything was going to go perfectly according to plan?
As far as I can tell, John Kerry is the only person running around loose who seriously believes that all you need is A PLAN and everything will turn out exactly as it should.
And anyone who claims the Bush Administration didn't expect trouble, is either blind or lying.
Kevin,
Sure. Clearly, though, the planners weren't expecting an insurgency that would be killing dozens of people a month nearly two years out. Contrary to mythology, the Administration never promised a "cake walk." They didn't prepare the public for this level of intensity, either.
Another member of the 101st Fighting typists weighs in...
Does Mr. Hanson have any plans to leave his quiet, safe hom to serve in the cause?
[rolls eyes]
"anjin-san?" Way to look like an idiot with your posting. Nobody who speaks Japanese puts "-san" on the end of their own names. It makes you look like an arrogant fool.
John,
I don't speak Japanese. However, I am a big fan of the late author James Clavell. Hence the name. Most literate people get it.
Don't you have anything better to worry about? Get a life, dude.
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