FLASHBACK: Brooks Predicted War Foes Wouldn't Admit They Were Wrong
February 15, 2007 -- 2:50 PM EST // //
Oh, man -- the fun just never stops with David Brooks, does it? As noted below, Brooks illustrated our Doctrine of Pundit Infallibility, or DOPI, in his Times column today by mocking those who, unlike him, were right about the Iraq war. And now we've unearthed a truly priceless gem from Brooks' oeuvre in which he predicted that despite success in Iraq war opponents weren't going to admit that they were wrong.
Here's what Brooks wrote in The Weekly Standard back in 2003 after the Saddam statue fell:
I'm curious about how all the war opponents are going to react if things continue to go well. Sure, they opposed Saddam, they will say. They just didn't want to do anything about him. They had no practical suggestion for how to end his murderous reign and spread freedom. They were tolerant. Tolerant of tyranny. They doubted, and continue to doubt America's willingness and ability to serve as a force for good in the world. That was their crucial mistake.I suspect they will not even now admit their errors. I doubt the people of Europe will say: We were wrong. You really are the liberators of the Iraqi people. I doubt the Arab propagandists will say: We will never spread such distortions again. We will never again be so driven by resentment and dishonesty.
Sad to say, human nature doesn't work that way. The rump 15 percent of Americans who still oppose this war may perhaps grow more bitter, lost in the cul-de-sac of their own alienation.
No, human nature doesn't work that way, as we've since discovered. Special thanks to crack TPM reporter Eric Kleefeld for the find.
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