Craving America's Defeat in Iraq

Back in November of 2006 -- back when al Qaeda had successfully plunged Iraq into sectarian chaos and the Iraqi people needed us the most -- James Carroll (a columnist for the Boston Globe) was excited about the possibility of America's apparent defeat. In fact, he thought that America's defeat at the hands of the terrorist organization that attacked us on 9/11 would be downright educational:

What it will take to end war

By James Carroll | November 6, 2006
...
It is one thing to feel uneasy about your nation's war, or even to move to a position of outright opposition. It is another to face the harsh fact that the only way out of the war is to accept defeat.
...
For all of the anguish felt over the loss of American lives, can we acknowledge that there is something proper in the way that hubristic American power has been thwarted? Can we admit that the loss of honor will not come with how the war ends, because we lost our honor when we began it? This time, can we accept defeat?

Here again in my chart showing civilian casualties in Iraq, and you should consider the state of Iraq at the end of 2006 (back when Carroll -- like Barack Obama -- thought it would be just an excellent idea to accept defeat):


Has the dramatic reduction in civilian casualties changed how Carroll thinks about the war in Iraq? No. His new column today suggests that, despite all that has happened, America's defeat is still the primary goal that should be pursued:

The new immorality of Iraq war

By James Carroll
May 5, 2008

INSANITY is defined as repeating one mistaken action again and again, each time expecting a better result that never comes. Prime example: the United States in Iraq.
...
Let's call this repeated insanity the mistake of "supermilitarism," choosing war over diplomacy, and expecting order to follow, instead of chaos. The mistake was made at the beginning, in the middle, and is being repeated now, in what should be the end. The mistake is so deeply rooted in American structures of imagination, economy, and government that it isn't even perceived as a mistake by those in power. And it threatens the future as much as it burdens the past.
...
The healing of Iraq would be far more readily achieved by an American acknowledgment of failure, and by the engagement of other nations that such an acknowledgment would immediately invite. But insanely holding on in Iraq until Washington can claim something like "victory" means that this globally oriented geo-political ambition - America's standing in the world - is being bought at the price of Iraqi blood.

This from a man who thought that U.S. troops should be withdrawn when Iraqi blood was being spilled at three times the rate it is today. Thus, he has it exactly backwards. He craves America's defeat, so much so that he is willing to purchase that defeat with the blood of the Iraqi people. At least that's how seems to me given his preference for withdrawal at a time when virtually everyone agreed that our abrupt departure would precipitate genocidal chaos on a horrific scale.

I wondered who James Carroll might support for president of the United States. Gee, that's a tough one. John McCain, perhaps? Probably not. Hillary Clinton? She's a Democrat, but her pro-defeat bona fides are somewhat questionable despite the rhetoric she has been forced to adopt during the primary season. No, this man who can hardly wait to see America defeated in Iraq knows a kindred spirit when he sees one. Here is how he covered Ted Kennedy's endorsement of Barack Obama earlier this year:

JFK’s Torch for Obama

by James Carroll

To rekindle the flame of the American University speech would be to restore a preference of negotiation over confrontation, to build self-criticism into policy making, and to affirm the utter realism of idealistic hope. Ted Kennedy sees the possibility in Barack Obama of the realization of his brother’s greatest vision.

That vision, conceived negatively, boils down to this: If humans do not change the way we resolve international conflicts, the planet is ultimately doomed to nuclear devastation. The abolition of all nuclear weapons, starting with our own, must be at the top of the new president’s agenda.

Conceived positively, the American University vision means that humans are poised, by necessity, for a great leap into a new and better world. Yes, we can.

Two years ago, Carroll asked "This time, can we accept defeat?" He knows perfectly well that if we elect Barack Obama, the answer is "Yes, we can."

No, we can't.