William F. Buckley on Iraq: 'It Didn't Work'

William F. Buckley, the dean emeritus of conservative American journalists, has lost a step or two in recent years, but is still worth reading and heeding. His view on the state of affairs in Iraq falls somewhere between mine and Country Bumpkin's, whose reponse to my blathering yesterday (Iraq: 'We Broke It, Now We Own It') is a thoughtful counterpoint.

Here's a link to Buckley's brief commentary in the National Review, as well as an excerpt:

Mr. Bush has a very difficult internal problem here because to make the kind of concession that is strategically appropriate requires a mitigation of policies he has several times affirmed in high-flown pronouncements. His challenge is to persuade himself that he can submit to a historical reality without forswearing basic commitments in foreign policy.

He will certainly face the current development as military leaders are expected to do: They are called upon to acknowledge a tactical setback, but to insist on the survival of strategic policies.

Yes, but within their own counsels, different plans have to be made. And the kernel here is the acknowledgment of defeat.

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Meanwhile, the Pentagon yesterday downgraded the only Iraqi battalion capable of fighting without U.S. support. The battalion had been repeatedly cited as an example of the growing independence of the Iraqi military.

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And finally, this chilling excerpt from Healing Iraq, the widely disseminated blog of "Zayed," who is a Baghdad dentist:

Fierce streetfighting at my doorstep for the last 3 hours. Rumor in the neighbourhood is that men in black are trying to enter the area. Some armed kids defending the local mosque three blocks away are splattering bullets at everything that moves, and someone in the street was shouting for people to prepare for defending themselves.

There's supposed to be a curfew, but it doesn't look like it. My net connection is erratic, so I'll try to update again if possible. The news from other areas in Baghdad are horrible. I don't think it's being reported anywhere.

My father and uncle are agitatedly walking back and forth in the hallway, asking me what we should do if the mob or Interior ministry forces try to attack us in our homes? I have no answer for them.