Obviously there are more than two kinds of people in the world. But you wouldn't know it from following a majority of today's high profile coverage on Iraq. Now it's being said by some that Bush didn't take down Zarqawi when he could and should have.
I can’t imagine a political analysis that would justify not killing Zarqawi given what we know now. It’s quite conceivable, though, that it appeared rational given what we knew in 2002.
Whether that's true or not is a very open question, as you'll see from the above link. As for the two kinds of people, there really are deciders ... and then there are the second guessers. The second group now includes a former Secretary of State, retired Generals, politicians and, as always, pundits. Take a case other than Zarqawi, Powell saying we needed more troops, which I realize was his position at the time. All well and good, yet even with hindsight, it's impossible to know what difference that would have made. Everyone forgets the arguments at the time.
Too many troops would cause issues with even moderate Iraqis and outside Arab leaders who would fear an American colonial Iraq. Too many troops and Iraq would have even less motivation to take on security and military issues for themselves. Too many troops makes for even easier targets and higher death tolls for the American military.
Decisions not made often appear more obviously correct with hindsight. What's missing is the ability to see them tested through experience. And to assume they would go precisely as they were intended and not have un-anticipated consequences is a mistake.
The other issue with second guessers, especially politicians, is that the group we have around today likely wouldn't have done much of anything if left to their own device. They need someone else to act before they exhibit the desire and, ultimately, non-courage, to come forward with a serious plan. I suspect they are simply to afraid of failure to effectively lead. But they are always at the ready to assume they can dissect difficult situations and presume to now tell everyone exactly how it should have been done fromthe start.
I'm not lumping Powell in with that group. He appears to have been consistent and in front. But his opinion was one of many at the time and there is nothing to really tell us it would have been more right than any other. I've never heard of an an armchair quarterback with a six figure salary for actually playing the game. Until I do, I'll continue to dismiss most of what I see as second guessing, or simple hindsight which, by definition, was not available at the time.
Neither life nor war is simple. Unfortunately, politicians, pundits and individuals hawking their latest book often want you to think that's so.
Read the Zarqawi news via OTB.
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