The Prophets of Doom- dismantled

In New Sisyphus: Rhymes with Dubya: The President and His Critics Richard A. Clarke and James Fallows, well-known prophets of doom, are properly whacked over the head by some common sense. Well worth a read! Good stuff:

This is why Democratic carping about an "exit strategy" strikes us as foolish and quite beside the point. The whole of the President's strategy in Iraq and in the Greater Middle East is one big exit strategy; after giving the process a violent supporting push, our goal is to hand over the reins as soon as possible. We will then support local democratic movements wherever they are, however we can. In the President's eyes, Muslims aren't automatons awaiting Uncle Sam to press the "calm" button instead of the worn-out "anger" button we've been pushing for years; instead, they are people, with hopes, dreams and aspirations, who will--if given the chance--lead their countries to their rightful places in the community of nations.

It strikes us as highly ironic that those who scream the loudest about the President's lack of nuance themselves fail to recongize what is at heart a very nuanced policy. We war in Iraq, we talk in Saudi Arabia, we defer to the EU in Iran, we engage in civil-society building in Jordan, all in a coordinated effort to bring about a democratic reformation in the wider Islamic world.