Inappropriate Triumphalism

I’ve been greatly concerned these last couple of days about the reports of Wes Clark’s hawkish triumphalism as expressed in that London Times article from last April as Baghdad fell. Even though he had spent 34 years in the Army and was predictably proud of the military victory, there was really no reason for him to be so effusive in his congratulations. It is unseemly, particularly if one wasn’t a strong supporter of the war, to say things like this:

The first order of business is to congratulate the United States military, to congratulate the Iraqi people and to say that this is a great day, both for (the) American military and American people and for the Iraqi people. I think President Bush deserves a day of celebration. Everybody in America is elated. We congratulate the troops. They’ve done an extraordinary job. We’re blessed to have the best military we’ve ever had. We are all so proud of their efforts not just today, but every day as they work tirelessly to bring democracy to Iraq.

Oops. I made a mistake. The above comments were made by Howard Dean, John Kerry, and John Edwards after the capture of Saddam just last month. It’s so hard to keep straight when you are allowed to effusively congratulate the troops and President Bush for successful military operations and when you’re not. My bad. Never mind.