by Victor Davis Hanson
Tribune Media Services
The anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan headed to Martha's Vineyard this week, where President Obama is vacationing. Once again she is protesting our two wars abroad.
But Sheehan is a media has-been. ABC's Charlie Gibson used to cover her anti-Bush rallies in Crawford, Texas. Now he says, with a sigh, of her recent anti-Obama efforts, "Enough already."
The war in Iraq is scarcely in the news any longer, despite the fact that 141,000 American soldiers are still protecting the fragile Iraqi democracy, and 114, as of this writing, have been lost this year in that effort.
But after the success of the surge, there are far fewer American fatalities each month — eight in July, five in August. Former anti-war candidate Barack Obama is also now President and Commander-in-Chief Obama — with Democratic majorities in the Congress.
Public opinion and media attention about Iraq were always based largely on two factors that transcended whether Americans felt the removal of Saddam Hussein was wise and necessary — or misguided and wrong.
First was the perception of costs to benefits. In May 2003, after a quick, successful American invasion, a Gallup poll revealed that 79 percent of the public supported the war — despite our not finding weapons of mass destruction. But by December 2008 — more than 4,000 American fatalities later and at the end of the Bush presidency — only 34 percent, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll, still felt the war had been worth the effort.
Second was how the changing public mood affected politics. In October 2002, the Republican-controlled House and Senate, with plenty of Democratic support, voted overwhelming to authorize the Iraq war.
Congress cited 23 reasons why we should remove Saddam. The majority of these authorizations had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction.
Yet as the subsequent occupation became messy and costly, prior Democratic support evaporated. In both the presidential campaigns of 2004 and 2008, running against what was now George Bush's war was seen as wise Democratic politics.
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6 comments:
The main reason they are blowing her off now is because it is NOT Pres. Bush she is protesting. It is the mighty Obama who shall receive no negative press from the liberals.
More proof that the liberals AKA " progressive socialists " Don't stand for anything they attach themselves to any emotional issue they can use as a tool to make their political opponents look bad. They can't outwardly say what they're hidden agenda really is because Americans would vote them out quick.
The reason why casualty rate in Iraq is down is not "the success of the surge" but because we have declared victory and stopped engaging the insurgents -- less activity, less casualties.
It remains to be seen whether the second string (Iraqi forces) can do the job.
Don't be surprised if the __hit hits the fan in the future and we have to fish or cut bait there as well as in Afghanistan.
The death rate is down in Iraq but up in Afghanistan to higher levels then we ever saw in Iraq .
I think the Iraqi people finally gave up. How can they possible fight against this machine?
The U.S. Military is a formidable enemy. These people never had a chance.
The same military industrial complex took over America without firing a shot. We were smart enough to not fight. We also lack the guts to put up a fight. No, we just pull out the visa card and take it like the dumb defeated slugs we are.
We lost America through the back door assault from the Socialists and their media machine and the take over of the public school system and the indoctrination centers also know as college's and Hollywood !
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