Matt Yglesias just says no:
I'm by no means opposed to the idea of more aggressive diplomatic and economic pressure and what have you. But I most certainly am opposed to starting a war. And insofar as twists and turns in policy are likely to be just smoke and mirrors -- as we saw before Iraq -- designed to smooth the path to war, I don't think people should waste their time talking about this stuff. The President has it within his power to alter this dynamic any time he wants. All he needs to do is say that, no, he's not going to start a war with Iran, but he does want to deal with the nuclear issue. With war taken "off the table," then we can have a conversation about diplomacy, the UN, sanctions, isolation, etc., etc., etc. But as long as war is on the table, then war -- not diplomacy -- is the issue, and the "military option" is a terrible one.Yup. I'm sure it's entertaining for people to think long and hard about what our policy ought to be in a perfect (i.e., Democratic-run) world...but it really, really doesn't help.
It genuinely is like Social Security, where the solvency question was being used as a cloak for the privatization agenda. Democrats kept getting labeled "irresponsible" for refusing to engage in a big wonk-fest about options for achieving long-term fiscal balance. But they rightly held their ground, perceiving that to the people who held all the power solvency wasn't the issue -- Social Security was. They wanted to destroy it, and Democrats didn't. Take privatization off the table, and then we can talk about solvency. Well, Bush wouldn't do it. Because, of course, we were right -- what he cared about was phasing the program out.
On Iran, it's the same thing. Liberals should be prepared to engage in a sophisticated and nuanced discussion of options for coping the Iran . . . the day after the President tells the "bombs away!" crew to buzz off. Until then, folks need to decide whether they want to collaborate, wittingly or unwittingly, with the people pushing us toward war or whether they want to fight them.
More nattering nabobs of negativism linked below the fold:
- Josh Marshall
- Sean Paul Kelley of The Agonist
- John Aravosis
- Newark Star-Ledger columnist John Farmer
- Greg Sargent (Tapped)
- Pachacutec (Firedoglake)
- Andrew Sabl
- Josh Marshall
- My previous posts: What to Do About Iran?; The Politics of Iran; and Iran: It's the Politics, Stupid.
|