BobHarris.com - The War Party's Latest Spin: George Orwell Was Right

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Books I'm Getting

Who Hates Whom:
Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Conflicts,
and Various Things Blowing Up —
A Woefully Incomplete Guide™

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Antiwar.com

The War Party's Latest Spin: George Orwell Was Right

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Monday, 08 October 2007

First, if you haven't read the full text of Barack Obama's October 2, 2002 speech in opposition to the Iraq war -- given nearly six months before the invasion began, while most of the country's leaders in both parties were still in full smoke-'em-out mode -- go take three minutes and read it. Seriously. Go. You'll see it wasn't based on a knee-jerk opposition to war on principle, but because of the specific facts of the situation, plainly visible in advance.

You may be blown away by how clearly, accurately, and wisely an American politician can actually speak, at least when he's not yet particularly well-known. (Lately, not quite so much. Obama not even showing up to vote against the Kyl-Lieberman Iran amendment was disappointing.)

In retrospect, Obama (in 2002, at least) displayed both foresight and political courage. How do you discredit that?

Simple -- by bizarrely equating factual correctness with weakness, as Fred Barnes did on Fox News over the weekend. (Hat tip Media Matters, Atrios, and TPM.)

If knowing the facts = weakness, then the contrapositive case -- not being weak = not knowing the facts -- is the logical equivalent. Compare and contrast:

"Obama's not in quite as strong a position on the war in Iraq as he really thinks... back in a time when the entire world believed that Saddam Hussein in Iraq had weapons of mass destruction... Barack Obama was against going to the war at that point. I don't think that shows that he is very strong..."

-- Fred Barnes, Fox News, 2007

"Ignorance is Strength!"

-- Oceania ruling party slogan, 1984

Of course, this may have just been a slip of the tongue. I mean, the ruling party in 1984 constantly preached against sex, saw perpetual war as an inherently stabilizing force, engaged in torture in a series of secret prisons, and were completely obsessed with domestic surveillance. Um. Hmm.

Maybe I should get this out of the way while I can: Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia!

OK, there. We're cool.