Iraq's Endless 'False Hopes'

September 1, 2007 (Consortiumnews.com)

By Robert Parry

Two-and-a-half years ago at another turning point in the Iraq War, columnists at the Washington Post and other leading American newspapers were ecstatic over how the Iraqi national election was finally fulfilling the neoconservative dream of remaking the Muslim world.

Now, however, some of the same columnists who praised the Jan. 30, 2005, election are denouncing it as a failure that must be undone so George W. Bushs newest turning point the American troop surge can achieve its fullest potential.

But remember back to those happy days in winter 2005 when Bush was the toast of Washington after his Second Inaugural Address that used the words freedom and liberty a staggering 42 times. Just 10 days later, U.S. commentators cheered themselves hoarse over the purple-finger election in Iraq.

Could it be that the neocons were right and that the invasion of Iraq, the toppling of Hussein and the holding of elections will trigger a political chain reaction throughout the Arab world? marveled Post columnist Richard Cohen. [Washington Post, March 1, 2005]

Another influential Post columnist, David Ignatius, was swept up in the excitement, too.

The old system (in the Middle East) that had looked so stable is ripping apart, with each beam pulling another down as it falls, Ignatius wrote. Crediting the U.S. invasion of Iraq for the sudden stress that started this collapse, Ignatius wrote, Its hard not to feel giddy, watching the dominoes fall. [Washington Post, March 2, 2005]

Editorialists at the New York Times were no less enthusiastic.

Times foreign policy columnist Thomas L. Friedman hailed the Iraqi election as one of several tipping points foreshadowing incredible changes in the Middle East. [NYT, Feb. 27, 2005]

A lead editorial in the New York Times expanded on Friedmans thesis. The Bush administration is entitled to claim a healthy share of the credit for many of these advances, the editorial said. [NYT, March 1, 2005]

On the Contrary

At Consortiumnews.com, however, we were among the few contrarian voices warning about the dangers ahead from Iraqs sectarian voting patterns. . . .