UNITY BEHIND IDIOCY. It's good to know, if thoroughly unsurprising, that when David Ignatius wanted us all to agree (i.e. with him) about how to respond to security threats, the consensus we're all supposed to rally around to is to stay in Iraq forever to accomplish nothing except to make all sides in the ongoing civil war more skilled and well-armed fighters. [Via Atrios.] Also note the somewhat subtle stab-in-the-back routine:"History will be equally unforgiving if their agitation for withdrawal results in a pell-mell retreat that causes lasting damage." In other words, people who want to end the Iraq fiasco are just as responsible as the people who designed, implemented, and shilled for it if withdrawal from the country they destroyed fails to magically produce a stable, mutli-factional government ruled by wise ponies and unicorns. (And as for how keeping a number of troops much smaller than the number that is already unable to prevent chaos and "training" all sides in a sectarian conflict will somehow avert "lasting damage"...look, it's Halley's Comet!) Nice trick; apparently consensus means "agreeing with David Ignatius while he affixes a 'kick me!' sign to your back and frames you for stealing money from taxpayers." Count me out. --Scott Lemieux
