The facts on the ground

StrategyPage has an excellent op-ed today:

The major problem in Iraq is back in the United States. There, many politicians either don’t bother, or don’t want to believe, what is actually happening, and has happened, in Iraq. In a way, that makes sense. Because what is going on in Iraq is so totally alien to the experience of American politicians. Moreover, many Americans take a purely partisan, party line, attitude towards Iraq. So logic and fact has nothing to do with their assessments of the situation.

More…

Now, this is the critical thing that many Americans don’t understand, or even know. When Saddam was deposed in 2003, most (well, many) Sunni Arabs believed they would only be out of power temporarily. This sort of thing you can pick up on the Internet (OK, mostly on Arab language message boards, but it’s out there). Saddam’s followers (the Baath Party) and al Qaeda believed a few years of terror would subdue the Shia, scare away the Americans, and the Sunni Arabs would return to their natural state as the rulers of Iraq.

Read the whole thing.

I would just like to add: Most of the opposition I’ve seen to the war lies purely along partisan lines. The Left hates George Bush with such a passion that anything he does is Automatically and Obviously Bad and Evil. Their hatred of the man makes them utterly incapable of rational thought when it comes to his policies. This is incredibly harmful to the country.

I know of what I speak because I saw my side of the aisle do the exact same thing to President Clinton. Both instances rose well beyond mere partisanship to the point of derangement.

Update: This lead at the Washington Times illustrates my point nicely:

Dems already dismissing Iraq war report

By S.A. Miller
September 6, 2007

Congressional Democrats are trying to undermine U.S. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus’ credibility before he delivers a report on the Iraq war next week, saying the general is a mouthpiece for President Bush and his findings can’t be trusted.

If there’s good news coming out of Iraq, the Democrats aren’t interested in hearing it. It might make the President look good. They would prefer defeat and national disaster just so they can tear down the President they loathe.

Fucking traitors.

Tags: congress, Democrats, George Bush, gripe, Iraq, stupidity, war