Thoughtful Conservatism on Iraq

Much of what passes for "conservatism" these days is merely blind partisanship--funereal flimflam espoused by flesh and blood robots who'd support George Bush even if he publicly pissed on the Constitution. Very much like the so-called "liberals" during Clinton's reign of error.

For thoughtful conservatism (thoughtful conservatism is NOT an oxymoron), the American Conservative magazine is an excellent source. Former Pentagon official Wayne Merry's "What Victory Lost" provides 10 reasons why the US would be better off today had the Iraq invasion and occupation not taken place. As the Constitution takes a daily beating these days, Merry's not-so-merry eighth reason why we'd be better off without the Iraq fiasco is terrifyingly on target:

. . . . the integrity of the American Republic would be under less strain, our civil liberties more secure, and our constitutional institutions less endangered by the demands of a wartime executive. A reality of our history is that wars are bad for liberty at home, even if we help spread it abroad. The true peace dividend of the end of the Cold War should have been restoration of the proper balance of powers in our national government and restitution of the primacy of the rights of our citizens. Sadly, it did not happen and will not so long as the national-security justification covers a myriad of governmental sins. Without the Iraq War, the fundamental struggle between those Americans dedicated to the Republic and those intoxicated by the quest for empire would be less skewed toward the imperialists.

Merry's essay comes at the same time that the New York Times is reporting on the contents of an internal report by the US Embassy and military leadership in Baghdad. The report was provided to the Times by a government official unhappy with the progress of the war, and it directly contradicts the upbeat assessments provided by VP Cheney, Rummy, and General Pace.

Conservatism should mean defending the Constitution and avoidance of military adventurism. What's running the show in Wasthingon right now surely is not liberal, but it ain't conservative either. Not by a long shot.