“Our track record is dismal”
by digby
Via Kevin Drum I find that John McCain went and got himself photographed with a bunch of Syrian rebels who had apparently kidnapped 11 Lebanese Shiite pilgrims. Considering McCain’s belief that he can put people together in a room and tell them to cut the shit, this might be funny except for the fact that it illustrates so perfectly why we must fight the American hubris that says we have the ability to sort out this conflict from afar.
Kevin quotes Joe Klein, who is right in this instance:
I don’t blame McCain for this. It’s hard to advance a trip into rebel territory….The point is: We just don’t know these places well enough to go over and draw grand conclusions about policy. In a way, McCain’s trip is a perfect metaphor for the problem of involving ourselves with the Syrian rebels. We may be siding with the greater evil. We may be throwing fuel on a fire that could consume the region. Our track record when it comes to such things is dismal.
That’s right. And this shows a rather amazing evolution by the Joe Kleins of the world. He used to be a lot more sure of America’s ability to get on the “right side” of everything. Very sure:
Klein: And, by the way, we’re very much well liked among the young, educated Iranians. But this is not Iraq we’re dealing with here. This is an ancient country, a very strong country, and a very proud country. And so, yeah, by all means, we should talk to them, but, on the other hand, we should not take any option, including the use of nuclea-….tactical nuclear weapons off the table.
Stephanopoulos: Keep that on the table?
Klein: It’s absolutely stupid not to.
Stephanopoulos: That’s insane.
Klein: Well I don’t think we should ever use tac-…I think that…
Stephanopoulos: Well, then why should they be on the table?
Klein: Why?
Stephanopoulos: Why do we want that specter of crossing that line?
Klein: Because we don’t know what the options on the other side…what their options are on the table.
That post contains the full Joe Klein treatment, circa 2006. It’s very interesting to see how much he’s changed his tune. That was a very creepy time. (It should be noted that he did later withdraw that statement and sort of apologized.)
Our (mis)adventures in the middle east, including the ongoing problems in Iraq and Libya, are proof that we are not particularly good at this sort of thing. It’s horrible to watch people suffering and do nothing, but unless one is very sure that intervention will make things better it’s best to be humble and accept that a country as powerful as we are is more often than not a bull in a China shop. It’s good to see that some of the “moderates” who were once inclined to see America as always being a benevolent and positive force for good finally realize that good intentions aren’t enough.
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