I love being right. There is nothing quite like the feeling I get when I’m proven correct after a long, heated argument. I’m still beaming over my victory in a spirited debate that I had with a friend about Corey Feldman back in 2002. He did, in fact, star in “Stand By Me” after he played the brilliant role of Mouth in “The Goonies.” But sometimes it actually feels good to be wrong.
Last week I attended a speech given by Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, in which he called for the beginning of the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Kennedy did not disappoint the partisan crowd, and his speech was both passionate and provocative. At times, I wanted to join everyone else and break out into applause, but then I remembered two things.
First, as an intern for CBS News, I was supposedly a representative of the press. Before I had the chance to express my approval for one particularly poignant line, a coworker nudged me and told me of a running office joke about how interns always applaud at the first news conference they attend. I laughed nervously, secretly elated that she had prevented me from embarrassment. After a few more minutes of making an honest effort to remain neutral, I realized something shocking: Kennedy’s speech was entirely inappropriate.
I was against the war in Iraq from the beginning, even under the assumption that Saddam Hussein was indeed harboring weapons of mass destruction. Since Iraq has descended into an insurgency worse than any war planners had predicted, with no clear light at the end of the tunnel, it’s been difficult at times to avoid a smug sense of satisfaction knowing that I was right. But whenever I begin to feel that way, I remember how much is at stake. People who were against the war should be every bit as invested in its success as those who were for it. Unfortunately, sometimes it seems like that’s not the case.
Kennedy began his lecture by comparing the current quagmire in Iraq to the status of the Vietnam War in 1965, a time so long ago that many Republicans were actually capable of not foaming at the mouth and snarling with disgust at the mention of Kennedy’s name.
“We thought in those early days of Vietnam that we were winning,” he said. “We thought the skill and courage of our troops was enough. We thought that victory on the battlefield would lead to victory in the war, and peace and democracy for the people of Vietnam.”
Over the past few years, I’ve supported Sen. Kennedy for being one of the most vocal and consistent critics of the administration’s policies on Iraq, and I agree that there are some scary comparisons between Iraq and Vietnam. But why did he have to come out with this doomsday speech three days before the Iraqi election, at a time when we were trying to instill optimism and a sense of pride in the Iraqi people?
“Unless the Sunni and all the other communities in Iraq believe they have a stake in the outcome and a genuine role in drafting the new Iraqi constitution,” Kennedy said, “the election could lead to greater alienation, greater escalation, and greater death-for us and for the Iraqis.” Kennedy is never shy about stating what he thinks (especially when he’s been hitting the sauce), and that is a big reason why he has been such a great senator for decades. But couldn’t he have at least waited until the polls closed to unleash his pessimistic forecast? There is something to be said for appropriate timing.
On a number of levels, I can sympathize with Kennedy. He and I actually have a lot in common. We’re both from Massachusetts, and guys from Massachusetts are very fond of speaking out against our opponents (think “Yankees suck!”). We are both of Irish descent, and during the winter, we get a little cranky as our pasty skin becomes dry and irritated. Kennedy has an enormous head and so do I. People with huge heads often develop inferiority complexes, usually stemming from our inability to fit into the batting helmets that our little league coaches provided us with as children.
But I don’t mean to make excuses for him. Kennedy should know better than to play politics at a time like this. The apparent success of the election last Sunday was the first good news to come out of Iraq in a very long time. Millions of Iraqis came out to vote even though they faced the very real threat of being murdered in the process. Personally, I would have been hiding in the closet all day with a blanket over my head, had I been in their position.
I still firmly believe that the war was a terrible mistake, and Kennedy may very well be correct in his assessment that things will get worse before they get better. War critics have the right to criticize the administration’s policies when we believe them to be wrong. But we should also note when successes take place and acknowledge when the administration has done something right. If we don’t, we will lose our credibility when the appropriate time comes to call them out on their mistakes.
