Perhaps it is time for the left to just stop doing radio and TV interviews. It simply isn't working out for them like they had hoped. On the heels of the flogging Christopher Hitchens gave Ron Reagan Jr., comes another absolute dismantling, this time by Hugh Hewitt.
A little background is in order. Fox Sports writer Dayn Perry wrote a column yesterday that contained this passage:
This week's dose of head trauma goes to anyone participating in the running of the bulls. There are any number of human tragedies worth our earnest regret, but any wayward trustafarian injured or killed in Pamplona is worthy only of ridicule and mockery. I'm on record as saying this: If you've been injured or killed by a bull at Pamplona, then I think it's funny. Now if only Mark Steyn would go and get himself killed."
Fox Sports ultimately removed the Mark Steyn remark from the column, presumably due to complaints.
Hewitt had Perry on the show today and questioned him on a variety of subjects, with very interesting results. My favorite part of the interview was not Perry's idiotic responses, but his extremely annoying habit of constantly responding to questions by repeating the question back to Hugh, forcing Hugh thus to repeat a question that Perry had already acknowledged hearing in the first place. It kind of reminded me of asking my oldest daughter a question.
Me: "Where have you been for the past two hours?"
Daughter: "Where have I been for the past two hours?"
Me: "Yes. Where have you been for the last two hours."
You get the idea.
When she does that I am generally left with the impression that she is stalling for time. Something tells me (like his answers for instance), that Perry was employing the same tactic. But I digress...
Read the Q-and-A between Perry and Hewitt on the subject of Iraq.
HH: Do you think the Iraq war was a bad idea?
DP: Yes, I do.
HH: Can you tell me why?
DP: Because I think it took our focus from where it needed to be in the war in Afghanistan. I think rebuilding Afghanistan could have been the democratic model that we pretend that Iraq is going to be. I was fully behind the war effort in Afghanistan. I thought there was direct relations to the terrorist attacks that occurred on this country. And I supported that. Iraq, I did not see the relation. I thought they were contained. You know, like anyone else, I obviously thought Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator, but that's only so much our concern. I think our concern should have been rebuilding Afghanistan, moving out the terrorists there, and using that as the model of democracy in the Middle East that we said we need.
HH: What are the consequences of the invasion of Iraq?
DP: What are the consequences of the invasion of Iraq...a waste of money, a waste of resources, a loss of more than 1,700 American lives, a further polarization of the Middle East, probably some benefits for those who want to recruit terrorists, you know, creating insurgency, need I go on?
HH: Any good come from it at all?
DP: Any good come from it at all...yes, not having Saddam Hussein around is better than having him around.
HH: Get Libya disarming its weapons of mass destruction, nuclear program, is that a good thing?
DP: Yes, that's a good thing, but I question whether that needed the Iraq invasion to make that happen.
HH: Qaddafi himself told the prime minister of Italy that that's why he did it. He told Berlusconi he was disarming because of the invasion of Iraq. You doubt Qaddafi?
DP: Well, I mean Qaddafi is in a position where he wanted to curry favor with the U.S., and by you know, giving them some rationale for a controversial invasion, you know, he did just that. So, I'm not sure that he's being completely honest with that assessment.
HH: So we're not going to believe him. How about the Syrian pullout from Beirut?
DP: Yes, that probably is at least an oblique result of what happened in Iraq, yes.
HH: And how about the elections that were held in Iraq? Were that a good thing?
DP: Well, at the cost of alienating the Sunnis, I don't know. Perhaps so. I don't see there's a viable democracy at this point. I guess it went about as well as could have been expected, with the way we botched the occupation. But if you want to look at that as a positive, okay.
HH: Generally speaking, do you think it's good for people to vote for their leaders, as opposed as to have them be selected for them?
DP: Of course.
To recap, liberating Iraq was a bad idea. But, everything that has resulted; democratic movements in the region, the peaceful disarming of regimes with WMD, the end of the Hussein regime, free elections in Iraq (maybe), and democracy in general are all good things.
Now that is a position on Iraq. In fact, it's almost art.
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