They Write Letters

A captain in the 82nd Airborne has written an open letter to John McCain that is published in today's Washington Post. Captain Ian Fishback writes to McCain hoping that he can push the Pentagon to clarify standards for treating detainees in Iraq. I've seen letters like this before, but they are usually anonymous. It's a good thing that Fishback is standing up for the virtues of America.

The problem is that with the Iraq war, we had one chance to get it right. We didn't. People are beginning to understand that. A lot of bloggers are hammering Tom Friedman today for this paragraph in the New York Times:

That will become clear in the next few months as we see just what kind of minority the Sunnis in Iraq intend to be. If they come around, a decent outcome in Iraq is still possible, and we should stay to help build it. If they won't, then we are wasting our time. We should arm the Shiites and Kurds and leave the Sunnis of Iraq to reap the wind.

We have been wasting our time Tom, it just took you two years to realize it. Friedman is simply pointing out the fact that we have run out of options. We filled the CPA with Heritage Foundation hacks and from that point the situation has simply spiraled downward from there. Will there be a civil war? Yes. Will there be ethnic cleansing? Yes, and with the troop levels we have currently in Iraq we are powerless to stop it. So, we will cut and run, and this running won't dishonor our soldiers as much as leaving them in theatre with orders such as Capt. Fishback has.

As for his letter to McCain, good luck. When it comes to lip service, John McCain is the Angelina Jolie of the Senate. When there is a line to tow, he will always hitch his nose to the administration's ass.