David Brooks Mangles History to Mask Neocon Failures

[marmar]

from HuffPost:




David Fiderer
David Brooks Mangles History to Mask Neocon Failures
Posted December 11, 2007 | 03:58 PM (EST)


Nobody spins neocon failures as artfully as David Brooks. Who else could write a column titled The Postwar Election and be taken seriously? Stripped down to its essentials, his basic argument is that since the surge is such a success, voters are turning their attention away from the war in Iraq. Consequently the 2008 election will be decided on other issues. It's his backhanded way of insinuating - without saying - that the occupation in Iraq is a success, and that a Democratic landslide will not be a referendum on the war.

"The main point is this: money and organization matter less right now than getting in tune with the zeitgeist shift. In 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill had formidable advantages over Clement Attlee. But when a public turns from a war mentality to a peace mentality, it turns with a vengeance -- even though in this case no armistice has been declared."

In referencing the 1945 election that turned Winston Churchill out of office, Brooks doesn't rewrite history so much as he twists or perverts it. As any high school student can tell you, by the time of the 1945 election, World War II in Europe was over. It did not end in an armistice, but in Germany's unconditional surrender. No one doubted the legitimacy of the war. Britain was unified in its resolve to win, and there was a sense of shared sacrifice across the nation.

If anything is a sure bet for 2008, it's that the Iraq occupation will not be over, but the majority of the country will continue to believe that the invasion was not worth it. Strains on government funding will remind us how the Iraq war squandered treasure as well as lives. And who came up with the fantasy that an armistice is anywhere on the horizon?

Bogus historical references are Brooks' specialty. A month ago, he insinuated that Condi Rice was on the brink of a diplomatic coup analogous to the formation of NATO. Our allies share a common view that "an Iran-Syria-Hezbollah-Hamas alliance is on the march," writes Brooks. So Rice is constructing an "anti-Iran counter-alliance." That's right. Behind the scenes, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the Palestinians and the U.S. are working together to thwart Iranian hegemony. Brooks points out that Rice is "an admirer of former Secretary of State Dean Acheson and is now present at the creation of a containment policy across the Middle East." (Acheson's memoir was titled, Present at the Creation. "Containment" was the policy first articulated by George Kennan.) ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-fiderer/david-brooks-mangles-hist_b_76330.html