We all remember George W’s fleeting moment of
glory three years ago when he strutted aboard that aircraft carrier under a
banner that shouted, “Mission Accomplished.” Well, three years, $300 billion, and nearly 2,400
American deaths later, Bush’s “mission” is a quagmire,
with no end in sight. But he was not the only one gloating back then
— right-wing media pundits, who had been enthusiastic long-distance
cheerleaders of George’s magnificent adventure in Iraq, were also
full of themselves. Let’s play back some of their insights from the
early days of the Iraq war. “The war was the hard part,” beamed a
gleeful Fred Barnes on Fox News. “And it gets easier. I mean, setting
up a democracy is hard, but not as hard as winning a war.” Here’s a keen observation from Fox News’
Dick Morris: “Over the next couple of weeks, when we find the
chemical weapons this guy was amassing . . . I think really means that the
left is going to have to hang its head for three or four years.” Of course, Bill O’Reilly is a brilliant judge
of what war involves, offering this slightly off-target prediction in
’03: “I will bet you the best dinner in the Gaslight District
of San Diego that military action will not last more than a
week.” Let’s go to MSNBC’s Chris Matthews for
the final word: “Americans love having a guy as president, a guy who
has a little swagger. . . . Women like a guy who’s president. Check
it out. The women like this war. I think we like having a hero as our
president. It’s simple.” No — Bush is simple; war is hell. And
it’s always more complex than it looks from an air-conditioned
television studio.
This article appears in Apr 27 – May 3, 2006.
