Out of Iraq: Neocons Shaking in Their Boots..............by Dan Friedman

President Obama’s decision to leave Iraq by the end of the year, leaving only a “strong diplomatic presence” behind, has got many people with skin in the game breaking a sweat. Chief among them is the cadre of priapic liberty-lovers who laid down the rationale Bush used to prosecute his war, even after he discovered there were no WMDs in Iraq. Now their credibility and paychecks are on the line. And they could lose both, if the skeptics who say a made–in-America democracy can never take hold in the Arab Muslim world turn out to be right. A guy named Max Boot at CFR is one of the merry band of “foreign policy experts” who cheered Bush on, and it was only a few hours after Obama’s announcement before Boot rose to cover his butt and leave Obama holding the bag. Next up, keep an eye out to see how Boot & Co. explain away this Reuters report: Afghanistan to back Pakistan if wars with U.S.: Karzai.


Dan Friedman
NYC