The Loser List

War is, as I've written before, the ultimate destroyer of illusions. It proves or disproves pet theories. It casts the harsh light of reality on the judgements and decisions of its participants. In that vein, it seems to me that one thing this war has clearly shown us is the accuracy and depth of judgement displayed by a wide number of commentators.

There are a number of people who, through their public statements, have clearly demonstrated either their lack of knowledge, or lack of seriousness--or both--when it comes to issues of war and peace. It seems to me that we need to remember such people, and to take their lack of seriousness into consideration when listening to their pronouncements in the future.

To that end, I've started compiling a list of losers. People who have displayed such bad judgement as to make us more skeptical than ever of their pronouncements in the future.

And here they are, in no particular order:

Robert Fisk: A guy who's so wrongheaded, his name has been made part of the blogging lexicon. "The Iraqi army's defences seem impenetrable," he wrote for the Independent on 2 Mar 03.

John Pilger: Writing for the Daily Mirror on 5 Apr 03, he talked about Iraq's "extraordinary resistance against such overwhelming odds". Well, it was extraordinary, though not in the sense he meant it.

Gen. Wesley Clark: Either he was dead wrong in his criticism of the battle plan, or he allowed political ambition to sway his analysis for partisan purposes. Either way, he's not a guy whose analysis can be trusted.

Col. David Hackworth: Called Donald Rumsfeld an idiot. Ended up looking like he was a bit mentally unmoored himself.

Sen. John Kerry: "Regime Change"? Maybe, but not at your hands. Oh, and service in Vietnam does not automatically endow you with seriousness about national security issues. Nor, by the way, does lack of such service automatically detract from such seriousness, as FDR's WWII leadership proves. In case you've forgotten, Sen. Kerry served in Vietnam. If you forget again, don't worry. He'll remind you.

Maureen Dowd: Sarcastic remarks about the president is not a policy. It's just posturing.

Gov. Howard Dean: Would-be architect of surrender.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi: Thousands of US casualties? Guess again.

Janine Garafalo: You're a decent actress and comedienne. Maybe you should stick with that.

Barbra Streisand: Saddam Hussein was the dictator of Iraq. Not Iran.

Martin Sheen: Maybe you should consider keeping that duct tape over your mouth.

Philip H. Gordon and Michael E. O'Hanlon: Brookings Institute military "analysts" who predicted the US could lose "thousands" of troops in Iraq. I would say, "Don't quit your day job, boys," but since this is their day job, they probably should.

Nicholas DiGenova: Wanted a "million Mogadishus". Well, actually, that came substantially true. For the Republican Guard.

Rep. Jim McDermott and Rep. David Bonior: Elected officials going to Iraq to provide support for a dictator? Gross. But, of course, Bonior was a chum of Danny Ortega, too. I often imagine Bonior in 1940, explaining patiently how all the German trains ran on time, and why that was such a good thing.

R.W. Apple: You know, Johnny, sometimes it isn't a quagmire.

Michael Moore: Actually, Mike, "fictitious times" would be ones in which you were taken seriously.

Peter Arnett: Forty years of journalism should have taught you that your job is to report the facts, not provide ammunition for your political allies. Or to suck up to your odious totalitarian hosts.

Jimmy Carter: Thanks for reminding us that there was a reason we kicked you the hell out of office at the first available opportunity.

Helen Thomas: Her "questions" are little more than disguised diatribes that appear to have been lifted directly from International ANSWER's web site. By the way, hasn't she reached mandatory retirement age yet?

Robert Scheer: If only the Societ Union was still around, you might have been up for a Lenin Peace Prize this year. But, communism's dead. Get over it, Bob.

Lt. Gen. Barry McCaffrey: Too few troops, he told us. Sorry, General, that's old-school, Fulda Gap thinking. Welcome to the 21st century.

Scott Ritter: The former Weapons Inspector became an Iraqi mouthpiece, saying "The US is going to leave Iraq with its tail between its legs, defeated. It is a war we cannot win." I wonder if that's because the Iraqis found out about his unusual...uh...personal activities and used them to turn him. In any event, I wouldn't show up at any USMC reunions, if I were him.

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