This love affair has been blossoming ever since Obama wooed the pro-war, any war crowd with prospects of more of the chest-thumping, second-hand thrills of overseas conquests that W had given them. But Obama’s latest moves in Afghanistan have made them positively giddy.
Here’s David Horowitz ordering war supporters to tone down their criticism of Obama’s domestic Big-Government agenda:
Even as astute a conservative thinker as Mark Steyn has been swept up in the tide that thinks Obama is a “transformative” radical. But look again at his approach to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. In both cases, as noted, he is carrying out the Bush policies – the same that he once joined his fellow Democrats in condemning. And that should be reassuring to anyone concerned about where he is heading as commander-in-chief.
After all, what’s a little socialism among fellow war supporters?
But for sheer bloodlust masquerading as patriotism, you can’t beat this post entitled, “Obama’s Neoconservative Pragmatism”:
Of course, “losertarians” like Justin Raimondo have made common cause the leading factions of the neo-Stalinist left, and here we have Daniel Larison excoriating the Iraq deployment as “folly,” as if U.S. forces under General David Petraeus had not engineered the greatest military/strategic turnaround since World War II. And this is after even some of the most hardline “paleos” have conceded to reality in acknowledging the magnitude of the American victory.
Holy cow, where to start? This kind of happy war talk warps right past “willful suspension of disbelief” into the realm of the hallucinatory.
First, what military masterminds are calling the Iraq timebomb a victory on the scale of WWII? I may not be an historian, but I do know the Allies didn’t win by paying off Nazi war leaders and allowing them to organize their own militias, which is what’s behind the momentary lull in Iraq’s Sunni-Shiite civil war.
But then, what else can we expect from a blogger who believes the Battle of Kasserine Pass was an Allied victory over the Axis? Is it possible an alleged Neocon has never watched “Patton”?
And those “hardline ‘paleos’” he claims have conceded to the magnificent victory in Iraq are not paleoconservatives, but libertarians who acknowledged the lull in Iraqi violence. But there’s an even deeper problem with that statement: there’s no such concession of victory. One of the libertarians cited, Thomas Knapp, even demanded this of the author in the comments: “I would appreciate that your lie either be redacted or corrected.”
But that ain’t gonna happen. In the phantasmagoric world of the vicarious warrior, sweet victory shines bright upon every display of Imperial power. Can’t you see how that luster reflects the goodness of those who cheer it on? Of course you can.
Bede on 31 Mar 2009 at 10:04 pm #
Great points!
HarrisonBergeron2 on 31 Mar 2009 at 11:37 pm #
Bede,
I thought the reaction of Knapp and the other antiwar libertarian were priceless. How typical of the dishonesty of war supporters to claim they’d changed their minds about this idiotic and obscenely wasteful war.
Americaneocon on 01 Apr 2009 at 2:17 am #
Are you kidding me, it’s the paleos who need a lesson in history:
“Daniel Larison’s Paleoconservative Historical Revisionism”:
http://americanpowerblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/daniel-larisons-paleoconservative.html
You post is dishonest, in any case. You’ve taken my writing totally out of context. You guys are simple frauds, the lot of you.
courtneyme109 on 01 Apr 2009 at 2:48 am #
“Sweet victory shines bright upon every display of Imperial power.”
Beautiful.
HarrisonBergeron2 on 01 Apr 2009 at 12:35 pm #
Americaneocon,
Is it possible to raise your discourse beyond the kindergarten level? Instead of simply retorting “Ain’t so!” you should provide evidence WHY your opponent’s views are wrong.
You still haven’t explained your deliberate falsehood concerning Knapp’s “conversion.” And I provided a link to your original posting so any interested party could read your comments in full context.
So is this the part where you devastate me with an “Is, too!” or “So’s your old man”?
HarrisonBergeron2 on 01 Apr 2009 at 12:41 pm #
courtneyme109 wrote: ” ‘Sweet victory shines bright upon every display of Imperial power.’ Beautiful.”
That was satire, dear. And those magnificent, manly thrusts projecting imperial power you so admire are cowardly attacks on innocent, defenseless people. I know, as an American, I’m supposed to swell with pride when one of Uncle Sam’s robot drones smites terrified peasants huddling in their tent, but I suppose that’s just one more sign of my sadly out-of-touch, Christian sensibility in an age of secular triumphalism.
Dostoevsky on 01 Apr 2009 at 1:45 pm #
A few more billions spent on victories like Iraq, and the US will be bankrupt.
Oh, wait….
courtneyme109 on 01 Apr 2009 at 3:26 pm #
May have been meant as satire yet it is awful pretty.
Neoconservatism is way bigger than Iraq or W – which many critics seem at times to be unable to differentiate.
As several GrEaT sAtAn fans who are backing 44′s ‘AfPak’ plan might say
“The United States remains the world’s indispensable nation –
indispensable to international peace, security, and stability, and indispensable to safe-guarding and advancing the ideals and principles we hold dear.”
Xian sensibilities may be more comfortable knowing America uses high tech, intelligent precision weaponry – made especially for reducing even the chance that innocents could persih – often dialed up and in by combat troops or intell operatives on scene.
In this new era, the consequences of failure and the risks of retreat would be even greater than before. The challenges we face require 21st century strategies and tactics based on a renewed commitment to American leadership.
sincerely,
CoUrTnEy
Captainchaos on 01 Apr 2009 at 4:08 pm #
“After all, what’s a little socialism among fellow war supporters?”
Nothing wrong with a little socialism and fighting for your race.
HarrisonBergeron2 on 01 Apr 2009 at 5:43 pm #
Dostoevsky,
Yeah, it kills me how some can talk about “victory” in Iraq and ignore the horrific cost. Looking at just the dollars dumped into this endless pit, we’ve screwed ourselves to the tune of three trillion — which we CANNOT afford.
HarrisonBergeron2 on 01 Apr 2009 at 9:18 pm #
courtneyme109,
Sometimes, nothing says it better than YouTube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wU1tS_x3Io
Captainchaos on 02 Apr 2009 at 2:48 pm #
I’m sorry, I meant Distributism, amongst racial kin, with a little help from the government. I too often forget how the faith gene imbues words with a mythic aura, or enables the adherence of said to words, as you like (so to speak, you most assuredly do not like it).