William F. Buckley Jr. joins Murtha

Posted By Uncle Jimbo

Only once before did I criticize WFB, the premier intellectual of the right, for declaring Iraq to be a defeat, and I did so with great trepidation. I do so again, with less trepidation and a hope that maybe I misinterpreted a man who has confused me more than once. His column on massacres:

"Starting at the bloody end, we read that 24 Iraqi civilians were killed by U.S. Marines in blood lust, the Marines reacting to the killing of a beloved member of their unit by a roadside bomb. Fiddle with the words above, and you can compose narratives for just about every story that has gone out. "

Gee I don't know Mr. Buckley does that include the one where they acted justly and this was an unfortunate incident of collateral damage? This is a possibility that escapes WFB as he then relives an actual massacre i.e.My Lai with zero consideration that this incident is a long way from that atrocity and is certainly unproven at this point. He spends the bulk of the column on the aftermath of Calley's conviction for My Lai and how some senior politicians tried to excuse or deny the actions even after conviction. Well WFB wants to make sure we don't fail to prejudge and convict this time around.

"Is the American public refusing to believe the story of what allegedly happened at Haditha? On the grounds that Americans simply could not be guilty of such acts? Surely what happened reflected not base instincts, but chaos and anarchy?"

So the public is obliged to believe the story he admits only alledgedly happened? And then he compounds his calumny by making it not the acts of bad men, but good men debased by the situation, i.e. W's ongoing defeat in Iraq. Hmm, where have I heard that before? I wish I believed he was being overly deep in his analysis and tone, but I am afraid I read him correctly, and that saddens me. If this is what he has left to add to the debate, then I think his time has passed. His previous contributions are epic and it would be a shame for his advancing years and impending mortality to cloud that.

In a brilliant essay in National Review, Christopher Levenick of the American Enterprise Institute reviews "My Battle of Algiers," by Ted Morgan, recalling the bestiality of that wretched war. And yet French soldiers who committed torture routinely went on to successful careers. "Indeed," writes Levenick, "it is not uncommon to learn that such men are capable of living out the rest of their lives without any sense of guilt for their actions. It remains a basic truth of human nature that a uniform is all that many men need to dissociate themselves from the evil they commit."

He ends with this bit, that while not a slur on all in the military is surely a slap in the face. Au Revoir Mr. Buckley you were the brightest star for 80 years, but this does not become you.

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William F. Buckley Jr. joins Murtha

Only once before did I criticize WFB, the premier intellectual of the right, for declaring Iraq to be a defeat, and I did so with great trepidation. I do so again, with less trepidation and a hope that maybe I misinterpreted a man who has confused me more than once. His column on massacres:

"Starting at the bloody end, we read that 24 Iraqi civilians were killed by U.S. Marines in blood lust, the Marines reacting to the killing of a beloved member of their unit by a roadside bomb. Fiddle with the words above, and you can compose narratives for just about every story that has gone out. "

Gee I don't know Mr. Buckley does that include the one where they acted justly and this was an unfortunate incident of collateral damage? This is a possibility that escapes WFB as he then relives an actual massacre i.e.My Lai with zero consideration that this incident is a long way from that atrocity and is certainly unproven at this point. He spends the bulk of the column on the aftermath of Calley's conviction for My Lai and how some senior politicians tried to excuse or deny the actions even after conviction. Well WFB wants to make sure we don't fail to prejudge and convict this time around.

"Is the American public refusing to believe the story of what allegedly happened at Haditha? On the grounds that Americans simply could not be guilty of such acts? Surely what happened reflected not base instincts, but chaos and anarchy?"

So the public is obliged to believe the story he admits only alledgedly happened? And then he compounds his calumny by making it not the acts of bad men, but good men debased by the situation, i.e. W's ongoing defeat in Iraq. Hmm, where have I heard that before? I wish I believed he was being overly deep in his analysis and tone, but I am afraid I read him correctly, and that saddens me. If this is what he has left to add to the debate, then I think his time has passed. His previous contributions are epic and it would be a shame for his advancing years and impending mortality to cloud that.

In a brilliant essay in National Review, Christopher Levenick of the American Enterprise Institute reviews "My Battle of Algiers," by Ted Morgan, recalling the bestiality of that wretched war. And yet French soldiers who committed torture routinely went on to successful careers. "Indeed," writes Levenick, "it is not uncommon to learn that such men are capable of living out the rest of their lives without any sense of guilt for their actions. It remains a basic truth of human nature that a uniform is all that many men need to dissociate themselves from the evil they commit."

He ends with this bit, that while not a slur on all in the military is surely a slap in the face. Au Revoir Mr. Buckley you were the brightest star for 80 years, but this does not become you.

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» "Haditha: Signal to Noise" (Updated from Small Town Veteran
(I'll keep adding new things to this post and bumping it occasionally till it gets too long. Originally posted 2006.06.10.23:39) Greyhawk has an excellent history and analysis of the Haditha story started here, and promises to add more to it [Read More]