Missing the Point
Since Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s article about Coalition Provisional Authority personnel practices specifically took on Kate O'Beirne's husband and Michael Ledeen's daughter, I've been eager to see the pushback from the Corner. Ramesh Ponnuru and Katherine Jean-Lopez oblige, but both seem off-target to me. They focus their ire on the implication on the insinuation that the CPA was handing out "posh perks" and plum patronage jobs pointing out, plausibly, that these are basically hardship assignments and not really super-desirable.
That seems like a reasonable riposte on the narrow issue, though my understanding is that life inside the Green Zone was actually fairly pleasant during the relevant period. It also completely misses the point, however, which is simply that the CPA was being treated as something more like an extension of the Republican National Committee than a serious institution of government. Not only did this compromise the quality and qualifications of the personnel, but it had an insidious impact on the operations of the CPA. "They don't call it the Republican Palace for nothing" was the joke at the time. The upshot being that the civilian side of the operation was being run with a mindset in which there was perfect overlap between the political interests of the Republican Party and with the national interests of the United States in its policy toward post-war Iraq.
The upshot was that the entire thing was being run as a propaganda operation, an enormous press conference for U.S. domestic consumption. That ends up desperately compromising various things, most crucially the flow of information up and down the chain of command and from outside and inside the government. The political interests of the GOP just ran toward painting as pretty a picture as possible of events on the ground, while the interests of sound policy required an accurate assessment of the situation and a realistic portrait of events. If, for example, people had a more realistic understanding of what was going on in Iraq then various political milestones might have been used to much greater advantage as a way of getting the U.S. out of Iraq in a credible way that left a not-absolutely-horrible situation behind. Instead, deep institutional commitment to the view that we were making progress when we were, in fact, regressing led us to let these milestones slide and then publically commit the country to unrealistic -- and often incoherent -- long-term objectives.
Comments
They focus their ire on the implication on the insinuation that the CPA was handing out "posh perks" and plum patronage jobs pointing out, plausibly, that these are basically hardship assignments and not really super-desirable.
No, that was K-Lo's point. Ramesh's point was that the article contained lie after lie.
That seems like a reasonable riposte on the narrow issue, though my understanding is that life inside the Green Zone was actually fairly pleasant during the relevant period.
That isn't my understanding. I wonder if Matthew could expand on his definition of "pleasant".
It also completely misses the point, however, which is simply that the CPA was being treated as something more like an extension of the Republican National Committee than a serious institution of government.
No, I think Matthew misses the point. The point is that there was a large portion of officialdom who were intent on sabotaging the war. Folks like Joe Wilson - who was willing to lie remorselessly to undermine the war. And it was important to try to prevent people like that from getting into the Green Zone where they could do even more harm.
Poor Matthew, looks like you've attracted lamprey-like Al, who's sucked much of the fun out of the comment section at Kevin Drum's blog over the past couple of years. Go away Al.
But I agree, I think you're getting it exactly right. The NRO folks of course are going to take the WaPo article as a personal affront - they're close to a lot of the people Chandrasekaran targets in his piece. More to the point, that the whole CPA enterprise was a dismal failure is now plain to see and is not in dispute. In the face of the meltdown in the security situation in Baghdad, there really is no substantial case to made anymore about numbers of schools painted, etc. The oil isn't pumping, the electrical grid is still a joke, the healthcare system doesn't work. All the billions spent by the CPA were pretty much a waste.
For the Corner folks, these are not welcome facts. Which is why in response we get appeals to patriotism. O'Beirne and Ledeen and the rest selflessly volunteered to serve their country! They did, of course, and it was an admirable thing to do in many respects, regardless of their party affiliation. But their efforts have come to naught.
Hilariously, having an all Republican government, which for all intents and purposes the CPA was, turned out to be a complete and utter catastrophe. That seems all too painfully familiar.
People whose entire political, and possibly adult, lives were achieved by who they knew can not be expected to understand the value of competence. Like their great leader, they have always failed up. Not to say that they didn't go to the best schools or get very impressive credentials, but for them it's always about the surface and nothing deeper.
For all of us to pay the price for their chosen system is sickening.
I suspect that "Al" is actually just the pseudonym used by a set of Republican activists who make every effort to be the first to post on progressive blogs so that the first (or at least among the first) comment visitors see is an appropriate Republican talking point. That sounds like the kind of thing they'd do, after all it's more important to LOOK honest than to BE honest. This is patented Republican rapid-response war-room planning, Blog-Style.
As to the substance, I find it telling that "Al" agrees that embarrassing political fallout in the Green Zone was far more potentially damaging than, say, the fallout from appointing incompetents to, you know, actually run the place. Once again, form trumps function.
I'm beginning to think these people really do believe that perception is reality, and not in some kind of touchy-feely Hollywood commercial way, but in a completely literal, Merlin-waves-his-wand-and-it-is-so kind of way. Reality is literally whatever they say it is.
Actually, that one is a parody, Pinson. This one is just an anonymous commenter who happens to be a Republican.
The hiring practices under the CPA is the best evidence that the Bush people weren't serious about the results of the war. So many of the people hired had no business experience and did not understand the concept of an audit trail. Result: over $9 billion dollars unaccountable.
It's the largest financial crime in history and how many pages has our "liberal media" devoted to it? How many congressional hearings? how many impeachments?
Folks like Joe Wilson - who was willing to lie remorselessly to undermine the war.
Yes, I'm outraged at Joe Wilson's lies about how there were no nukes in Iraq! Oh wait...
The GOP seems awash in what I call "marketing major post-modernism" -- the belief, often acquired through osmosis while studying public relations or advertising in college, that some egghead over in Europe proved that there's no such thing as truth or reality, so … spin away!
The other big problem that the article laid bare was that people with genuine qualifications in fixing things were turned down, while people with meager qualifications on the issues at hand got their jobs. So everything was run by inexperienced people who didn't know what they were doing.
Time for the time machine:
Audit: U.S. lost track of $9 billion in Iraq funds
"Severe inefficiencies and poor management" by the Coalition Provisional Authority has left auditors with no guarantee the money was properly used," the report said.
Heckuva job, Simone Ledeen
Oh Jesus -- not "Al". Give it up already.
As far as "unpleasant" duties go, my understanding is that jobs in the Green Zone were pretty well compensated, with six-figure salaries -- untaxed -- not at all unusual.
I mean, do you think Republicans are gonna take a job for warm fuzzies?!?!?
MY--
is there some reason why you continue to refer to Ponnuru as though he is a respectable person?
Like, do your mothers know each other, or are you forced to car-pool with him twice a week or something? Some dire social necessity?
Cause otherwise, I think it behooves you to treat him and his ilk with the withering contempt and scorn that they deserve.
Ponnuru is not a serious person. He is not a young intellectual. He is not a thoughtful conservative.
He is a vice-ridden, dishonest, shameless, despicable, calculating Bush-loving hack. He has long ago sold out his country's honor for the hope of power in a permanent Republican majority.
So quit talking about him as though he is person to be taken seriously, okay?
and by the way--
It's nice to have the "Al" on duty admitting that there was a scheduling screw-up, and the RNC posted two Al's for the same time-period.
You guys are going to rot in hell.
One of the interesting digs at The American Empire in "Colossus" by Niall Ferguson is the reluctance by those most interested in preserving our empire to actually serve Out There. Ferguson compared it to the number of English 2nd sons (el alia) who actually went to Egypt, India, Burma, etc. Or their Roman equivalents who went to Britain, Spain, Asia Minor etc.
As near as I can tell, once the coffers were dry after the Grand Looting under the CPA the parties hastened home. Wouldn't want to actually make a career of spreading Americanism.
no, matthew, it's not a "reasonable" riposte, even to a "narrow" point. Let's take it as a given that life in the green zone was incredibly difficult. so what? how does this justify giving unqualified but well-connected hacks appointments to this godforsaken hole that we've just stipulated the green zone to have been?
what's reasonable about a perspective that says, hey, they weren't plum patronage assignaments, they were hard-working patronage assignments under difficult conditions, so we had to be sure that everyone was politically sound?
what's reasonable about a perspective that says, hey, they weren't plum patronage assignaments, they were hard-working patronage assignments under difficult conditions, so we had to be sure that everyone was politically sound?
Nothing.
"politically sound"? WTF?
What you Democrats don't understand is that political self-promotion is the only rational goal of foreign military and aid efforts. What is the point of running a place like Iraq for the benefit of the Iraqis? They don't vote. (Not in the real American elections, that is -- though we do run those purple-finger haunted-house charades for them every once in a while). The point of invading another country is to generate good publicity and photo opportunities highlighting the resoluteness and forthrightness of our Presidential and congressional candidates. Why else would a sane political party expend so much capital? To promote international harmony and democracy? Don't be ridiculous.
Why so many attacks on poor Al? If you all had been reading Al's comments on Matt's typepad blog during the period when it mostly eschewed politics, you'd see that Al was a regular reader who posted fairly intelligent comments on sports and entertainment.
Sure we disagree with his politics, but why the ad hominem and the fake posts in his name, and so forth?
Let Al be Al!
A coupla thoughts:
1) To take up where Neil the Ethical Werewolf left off, there were lots of qualified people who, in mid-2003, were eager to work on the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq wasn't yet seen as that unsafe, and for a lot of people it would have been quite the professional opportunity to show what one could do.
Instead, they hired Republican hacks just out of college who didn't know shit, but were loyal to Our Leader. It really doesn't matter how hard they worked, or how selfless their service was. The problem was that they were there at all, and in positions of serious responsibility that they were completely and totally unqualified for, while the qualified people were shunted aside on the basis of politics.
2) Damned if I can find it now, but I recall back in 2004, when this issue was news, that it was reported that some of the Young GOP Hacks called it a day in Iraq because it was time to go home and work on Our Leader's 2004 presidential campaign.
And, OT:
3) Best way to respond to 'Al' (like all trolls, in all places) is by ignoring him unless he's got a genuinely substantive objection.
I just googled a post of Daniel Drezner's from May 28, 2004. Here's what it says:
These are the same people who called an expense-paid trip to Niger a "junket."
The OWHL liason and Rove staffed the CPA to be part of their permanent campaign. The staff was either Bush loyalists or press flacks. It was all about creating good news for the Bush reelection campaign. They even threw in a lot of slush money for the contractors (how much of that made its way back to the GOP) and some "test cases" for the ideologues.
The Atlantic Monthly has a great article about Iraq Year Zero.
Ever wonder why the CPA important concrete barriers when there were Iraqi cement factories laying dormant?
mirc
mirç
mırc
mırç
mircturk
turkmirc
turkiyemirc
mircturkiye
mirch
mırch
mirc indir
mirc yükle
mirc yukle
mırc indir
mırc yukle
mirc turkiye
turkiye mirc
turk mirc
mirc turk
türkçe mirc
türkce mirc
türkçe mırc
turkce mirc
turkçe mirc
turkçe mırc
turkce mirc
mirc chat
mirc sohbet
mirc ara
muhabbet
chat
blog
muhabbet
forum
forum
turkiyeforum
türk forum
mirc
mircturk
turkmirc
mirc indir
sohbet
chat
bedava sohbet
turksohbet
turkiye sohbet
sohbet odaları
bedava chat
chat odaları
türk chat
türkiye chat
turkada
turkmirc
mirc inndir
karar
thanks
slm
Thanks Best Regards
mirc
mırc
mırç
mircturk
mirctürk
turkmirc
mirc indir
mırc indir
mirç indir
mirc yükle
mırc yükle
mirc yukle
mırc yukle
mirch
mırch
mirc turk
turk mirc
mırc turk
mircada
mircturkiye
muhabbet
mirc sohbet
mırc sohbet
mirc chat
mırc chat
mırc ındır
mirc ındır
türkçe mirc
turkce mirc
turkçe mırc
turkce mırc
oper mirc
sohbet
forum
chat
online sinema
catlak
türk forum
turk forum
kafkas
kafkasya
ders
siyaset
izmir
karşiyaka
karsiyaka
forum
karsıyaka
sohbet
penis büyütücüler
harbiarkadas.com
harbiarkadas.net
harbiarkadas.org
itirafet.org
ebedava.net
elektronikmarket.net
ameribress.com
clitoriacream.net
superspenisbuyutucu.com
megabress.com
rednightperformans.com
performansartirici.com
penisplus.tv
penispluspenisbuyutucu.com
penispluspenisbuyutucu.net
cinselmerkez.com
aseks.net
erotikcamasirlar.com
vajinatr.com
bakirevajina.com
cinselkozmetik.com
kozmetikmedikel.com
eturknet.com
tecavuz.net
yutuvideo.com
ponotubesex.com
laraperuk.com
sackanagimerkezi.com
peruksa.com
perukmarket.com
aseks.com
aloveshop.com
erotikgiyim.com
geciktiricispreyler.com
geciktiricihap.com
geciktiriciler.com
azdirici.com
bayanuyarici.com
fntazialemi.com
fantaziservisi.om
cinselmazemeler.com
cinselfantaziurunleri.com
erotikdakikalar.com
erotikmarketiniz.com
seksmarketiniz.com
sekshatlari.com
erotikdergiler.com
erotikderginiz.com
penisbuyutucuviprx.com
penisbuyutucuvigrx.com
penisbuyutuculer.com
vigrxpenisbuyutucu.com
sismebebekler.com
sismebebekshop.com
yemekeviniz.com
sanalmarketiniz.com
elektronikmarket.net
ebedava.net
kontortr.com
elaydin23.com
turkcellkontorcu.com
aveakontoral.com
vodafonekontoral.com
toptankontorcu.com
cinselkozmetik.com
bayanpartnerler.com
erkekpartnerler.com
kizarkadaslar.com
yonjaarkadas.com
siberalem-siberalem.com
sexpartnerler.com
sekspartnerler.com
erotikpartnerler.com
gencyuz.com
erkekarkadaslar.com
bayanarkadaslar.com
yemekeviniz.com
sanalmarketiniz.com
baskahaber.com
medikalkozmetik.net
kozmetikmedikal.com
zayiflamavediyet.net
zayiflamahapii.com
zayiflamabandii.com
kilovertr.com
zayiflamatr.net
diyettr.com
toksinbandi.net
botoxtr.com
botokstr.com
selulittedavii.com
selulitgiderici.net
selulitkremii.com
catlaktedavisii.com
catlakgiderici.net
catlakkremii.com
sex shop
Post A Comment