Trapped By The Case We Made

by digby

The other day I wrote about the foreword that John McCain wrote for an edition of The Best And The Brightest in which he claimed (among other things) it would be criminal to continue a war that wasn’t backed by the American people.

Brendan Nyhan has another example of a similar statement:

As I noted last December, he said something similarly ironic about the US presence in Lebanon back in 1983:

The fundamental question is “What is the United States’ interest in Lebanon? It is said we are there to keep the peace. I ask, what peace? It is said we are there to aid the government. I ask, what government? It is said we are there to stabilize the region. I ask, how can the US presence stabilize the region?… The longer we stay in Lebanon, the harder it will be for us to leave. We will be trapped by the case we make for having our troops there in the first place. What can we expect if we withdraw from Lebanon? The same as will happen if we stay. I acknowledge that the level of fighting will increase if we leave. I regretfully acknowledge that many innocent civilians will be hurt. But I firmly believe this will happen in any event.

Won’t anyone ask McCain about this one either?

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