Over at TNR, Jason Zengerle strokes his chin long enough to practically rub himself raw with worry that those calling for withdrawal from Iraq “underestimate the consequences of it” Hey, I share the concern about the effects of a withdrawal. In fact the lefty magazine where I’m a Senior Editor ran a story that reported unflinchingly on all the awful consequences that might follow a withdrawal. But this concern sounds a hell of a lot like the “concern” that many had during the run-up to the initial invasion in 2003 that those opposed to the war weren’t taking into account just how hideous the Hussein regime was. OK, fine. But in the end you either have a war or you don’t, you have an escalation in troops or you don’t. Of course there’s arguments on both sides, there always are. But actual lives hang in the balance and making a show of how thoughtful you are ends up looking a lot like moral vanity.
It also exempts you from having to make tough choices. I find that the folks quickest to fall back on moral anguish are the ones most unwilling to say, clearly, what they believe should be done. In that way, substituting your empathy for an actual judgment on the situation is a form of cowardice.
If you believe we should stay, and that will save lives, your responsibility is to further that argument. If you believe we should leave, and that will save lives, your responsibility is to hasten that outcome. Simply ruminating over the value of each human life and the tragedy of each unnecessary death does nothing but prolong the status quo -- a status quo that's not minimizing casualties. Meanwhile, Jason Zengerle may not have looked into this much, but advocates for withdrawal like, for instance, his magazine's former Iraq reporter, have indeed gone through the evidence and done the spadework and they do not need to "watch Bush's speech tomorrow night...[and] listen to what Kennedy and Biden and any other Democrats have to say in response"* in order to make up their minds. Zengerle may disagree with their conclusions (though he certainly doesn't say that), but they've not been reached hastily or thoughtlessly. And the idea that the crucial missing elements are Bush and Biden's prepared addresses strikes me as odd.
