Christopher Hitchens, former thinker, doesn't seem capable of linking his support for the Iraq war to its disastrous post-invasion phase. On last night's ABC Lateline, he revealed his true colours:
TONY JONES: "Christopher Hitchens, a final question, if I can. Has your own faith - and I do suspect I know the answer to this, but has your own faith in the righteousness of this war been shaken at all by the way in which the US has handled the post-invasion phase?"
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: "Well, the two things don't really relate to each other, do they? I mean, one can be absolutely convinced that it was both a just and necessary war, as I am, and be fairly voluble about the immense failures of post-war planning and the immense continuing risks. My support for it doesn't depend on how well it's going. I think it's an inevitable confrontation that was put off too long. That's partly the reason it's going so badly now. But I'm on the other hand very heartened by the developments among Iraqis, by the extraordinary attachment to democracy and liberty that they show, by the way they refuse to turn on one another in spite of many provocations to do so, the way that predictions about fratricide haven’t been fulfilled, and I wouldn't consider it decent even to suggest abandoning them to the sort of fate so that the so-called insurgents - who are in fact the secret police of the former regime allied with the scum of the earth from foreign jihadists - have in store for them."
Hitchens lives in an ideological world completely divorced from reality. Sounds like somebody else we know.
TONY JONES: "Christopher Hitchens, a final question, if I can. Has your own faith - and I do suspect I know the answer to this, but has your own faith in the righteousness of this war been shaken at all by the way in which the US has handled the post-invasion phase?"
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS: "Well, the two things don't really relate to each other, do they? I mean, one can be absolutely convinced that it was both a just and necessary war, as I am, and be fairly voluble about the immense failures of post-war planning and the immense continuing risks. My support for it doesn't depend on how well it's going. I think it's an inevitable confrontation that was put off too long. That's partly the reason it's going so badly now. But I'm on the other hand very heartened by the developments among Iraqis, by the extraordinary attachment to democracy and liberty that they show, by the way they refuse to turn on one another in spite of many provocations to do so, the way that predictions about fratricide haven’t been fulfilled, and I wouldn't consider it decent even to suggest abandoning them to the sort of fate so that the so-called insurgents - who are in fact the secret police of the former regime allied with the scum of the earth from foreign jihadists - have in store for them."
Hitchens lives in an ideological world completely divorced from reality. Sounds like somebody else we know.
3 Comments:
He looked tired. It was early morning over there, but I wonder if defending the indefensible has started to penetrate even his thick hide. Only about 20 more years of it Hitch, before you can rest in an uneasy peace.
He also showed an uncharacteristic humility; he seemed genuinely pleased to be asked on, surprised even. Of course, Jones went nowhere near challenging some of his admin-approved boilerplate, he wasn't taken out of his comfort zone, but I was encouraged by his more sombre, less swashbuckling mien.
It must be galling to realise the great unwashed are reaching the right conclusion belatedly, but not as belatedly as you.
People like Hitchens are not stupid. They know Iraq is a disaster and unlikely to improve. And it's because of so-called intellectuals such as himself who gave the war intellectual cover that we're in the mess we're in, at least partially. He'll soon wake up even further. Mark my words...
It took a lot for Hitchens to cross the floor the first time. I agree with you, Antony - he'll do it again, and it will be a harbinger for those who doubted it all from the start. In fact, I'd say if he turns back and starts to defy the warmongers, he'll do so with a vengeance. I only hope that the voices of the left (you know, those with media access) will welcome him, rather than belittle.
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