Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Shep Smith Gives Iraq Hawks A History Lesson

Fox News' Shep Smith bucked his network's conservative ideology by taking on Republicans who are pressing Obama on Iraq. The president has faced pressure to take aggressive action in response to the extremist Islamist insurgency that has seized two Iraqi cities and is bearing down on Baghdad.

"Are we about to be drawn back into a conflict in Iraq?" Smith asked. "The same people who 12 years ago told us this will be quick, this will be easy, this will be inexpensive, they will see us as liberators, it's the right thing to do, are now telling us, 'It's the right thing to do.' What's the endgame? Who's thought this through?"

Smith argued the Iraq war provided a valuable history lesson: the George W. Bush administration led the U.S. into a war that exacted a heavy toll on all sides of the conflict for many years.

Talking Points Memo notes that Smith later told Fox News' Chris Wallace that he hasn't forgotten "being bamboozled" by the Bush administration's justification for invading Iraq.

"Well, I remember it. I think it would be wrong for us to just sit around and listen and not ask big questions," Smith said.

Smith's concern about a repeat of the 2003 Iraq War wasn't shared by some lawmakers. On Thursday, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. called for the resignation of Obama's national security team for their cautious approach to getting involved in the latest conflict in Iraq. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, accused the president of "taking a nap" as unrest spread.

On Friday, Obama announced that he is considering options on how the U.S. can assist Iraq, but held that "we will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat."

Smith once again proved that he isn't afraid to deviate from other conservatives with his remarks on Obama's approach to the Iraq conflict, as he did in endorsing Obama's stance on same-sex marriage and when Smith provided a contrast to his network's view on the released American prisoner of war, Bowe Berghdahl. Smith's warning against jumping into the conflict in Iraq echoed that of MSNBC's Rachel Maddow, who warned that the people who "most aggressively argued that we ought to start the Iraq War in 2003" should not be trusted when calling for intervention now.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com/
Author: --

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