Alan K. Henderson's Weblog

Media Research Group reports a recent CBS News broadcast:

Couric opened her newscast: "Hi, everyone. President Bush today began another week of consultations looking for what he calls a new way forward in Iraq. And most Americans agree we need one. In a CBS News poll out tonight, a record 71 percent said the war is going badly. More than half say it's unlikely the United States will win [53%]. And a record number say the war is the most pressing problem America is facing right now [35%].

The poll begs for more questions:

Why is the war going badly? Some possible answers:

1. Because we're trying too hard to minimize collateral damage to do what we need to do - concentrate firepower in the hottest battle zones.
   
2. Because the majority of Iraqis don't want us there - it's a doomed cause.
   
3. Because we're not retaliating against Iran and Syria, whose governments are supplying the "insurgents."

Why is it unlikely that the US will win? Some possible answers:

1. Because the majority of Iraqis don't want us there.
   
2. Because the Democrats will betray Iraq the way liberals and Kissingerian realpolitik betrayed Vietnam.
   
3. Because Bush doesn't have the cojones to step up the attacks against the "insurgents."
   
4. Because it won't be over until Syria and Iran stop subsidizing the "insurgents" - and nobody has the cojones to take out those two countries.

Why is it the most pressing problem? Some possible answers:

1. Because we're wasting resources on an unwinnable war.
   
2. Because Democrats are gonna pull us out. Iraq's fragile government will be toppled. Everyone seeking that distinction is a declared enemy of Western civilization. There's even the possibility that portions of Iraq may be seized by Syria and/or Iran. Whoever takes over will abet anti-Western terrorists just like Saddam did.
   
3. While Democrats are not gonna pull us out, their obstructionism will make the war last longer than it has to. Thus the war will be more costly, thus we will have fewer resources to fight the next stages of the War on Terror.

Labels: Media, Middle East, Politics, War on Terror