You Get What You Pay For
In this piece from Dan Kennedy in the Boston Phoenix, Boston's free, blatantly anti-Bush, weekly paper that meets ALL your needs, from leftist whining to bondage gear, Kennedy writes about an encounter with David Frum, former speechwriter for George W. Bush. The article addresses several points, including the "Who would Bin Laden vote for?" issue and media ethics in a time of war.
To his credit, Kennedy does recognize that the media tend to paint an "unduly negative picture" of what's happening in Iraq today, but he can't help but immediately follow that up with this remark:
1. True, there were UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, BUT they never received the full cooperation of the Hussein regime they were entitled to under the numerous UN resolutions passed since the liberation of Kuwait. Further, over the years, the role of the inspectors had somehow changed to that of WMD seekers, expected to scour every square inch of the Iraqi landscape in an effort to locate these weapons, the existence of which had been thoroughly documented by the UN itself. The original role of the inspectors was to oversee and/or verify the destruction of the WMD's and have this information given to them by the Hussein regime.
2. True, there were no-fly zones over much of the country, BUT coalition aircraft were routinely fired upon by the Iraqi military during routing patrol of these no-fly zones. What's that? Another UN resolution violation by Mr. Rational, Saddam Hussein? I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked!
3. True, there were economic sanctions in place, BUT can anyone demonstrate that they did anything to prevent Saddam Hussein from amassing great personal wealth at the expense of the Iraqi people who were regularly denied adequate food, water, and health care? Following the removal of Hussein from power, it was revealed that the Saddam loyalist forces had warehouses packed to the gills with food and supplies intended for distribution to the Iraqi people via the UN Oil for Food Program.
I don't think Frum was eliding these questions. They had been asked and answered countless times in the past. Many people on the left today, including Mr. Kennedy, still refuse to accept the answers, yet continue to ask the questions as though, somehow, the facts will change with the passage of time.
It's like when Ernie was trying to convince Bert he hadn't eaten one of his cookies by re-arranging and re-counting the remaining three cookies several times, trying to come up with four.
To his credit, Kennedy does recognize that the media tend to paint an "unduly negative picture" of what's happening in Iraq today, but he can't help but immediately follow that up with this remark:
- "But again, Frum is skimming the surface and eliding the more basic questions - the most crucial of which is why we went to war at a time when there were UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, no-fly zones over much of the country, and economic sanctions in place."
1. True, there were UN weapons inspectors in Iraq, BUT they never received the full cooperation of the Hussein regime they were entitled to under the numerous UN resolutions passed since the liberation of Kuwait. Further, over the years, the role of the inspectors had somehow changed to that of WMD seekers, expected to scour every square inch of the Iraqi landscape in an effort to locate these weapons, the existence of which had been thoroughly documented by the UN itself. The original role of the inspectors was to oversee and/or verify the destruction of the WMD's and have this information given to them by the Hussein regime.
2. True, there were no-fly zones over much of the country, BUT coalition aircraft were routinely fired upon by the Iraqi military during routing patrol of these no-fly zones. What's that? Another UN resolution violation by Mr. Rational, Saddam Hussein? I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked!
3. True, there were economic sanctions in place, BUT can anyone demonstrate that they did anything to prevent Saddam Hussein from amassing great personal wealth at the expense of the Iraqi people who were regularly denied adequate food, water, and health care? Following the removal of Hussein from power, it was revealed that the Saddam loyalist forces had warehouses packed to the gills with food and supplies intended for distribution to the Iraqi people via the UN Oil for Food Program.
I don't think Frum was eliding these questions. They had been asked and answered countless times in the past. Many people on the left today, including Mr. Kennedy, still refuse to accept the answers, yet continue to ask the questions as though, somehow, the facts will change with the passage of time.
It's like when Ernie was trying to convince Bert he hadn't eaten one of his cookies by re-arranging and re-counting the remaining three cookies several times, trying to come up with four.
