Neocon Republicans And The "Who Lost Iraq?" Fast Shuffle

Several perceptive folks have noticed, particularly in the aftermath of John Ellis "J.E.B." Bush's week-long floundering on brother Dumbya's Iraq catastrophe, that Republicans are cowardly trying to turn the issue of ISIL's recent gains (after a series of setbacks) in Iraq into an indictment of President Obama (and, of course, Hillary Clinton) to divert attention from the Republican originator of the mess (and his "smarter" brother):

After more than a decade bearing the political burden of Iraq, Republicans are making a dogged effort to shed it by arguing that the Islamic State’s gruesome ascent is a symptom of Obama’s foreign policy, rather than a byproduct of the 2003 invasion they once championed.

Chaos in the city of Ramadi, which this week fell under the control of Islamic State militants, has only intensified the Republican outcry.

Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog noticed the corporate "mainstream media" is already engaged in tying the recent loss of Ramadi to ISIL into a narrative about the pain veterans of the Iraq War feel over seeing the city fall.  Mind you, not that the whole bloody mess originated in the first place because of the lies of Likudnik chickenhawk neocons.  More evidence, if any were needed, that the "mainstream media" is the perfect foil for Republican revisionists because it has the perspective of Mr. Magoo and the attention span of a mayfly.

Charles P. Pierce noted Steve's catch and had this to say:

...The only way for the people who shook their moneymakers for the war in 2002 to justify their continued place in our politics is to use ISIL to replace the aluminum tubes and hope that enough people don't notice what a grotesque fast shuffle this is. That will clear the way for the candidates on the Republican side -- Rubio, Graham, Jeb (!), and, most recently, Chris Christie -- who want to revive the old neocon hoo-rah while distancing themselves from its savage consequences. It looks very much like "Who lost Iraq?" may replace the disastrous decisions of the Avignon Presidency in this campaign, and that a good chunk of the Republican field will be perfectly happy to allow that to happen. For all the talk of the president's fecklessness from the chickenhawk choir, what those candidates are about right now is the worst kind of cowardice.

That Republicans are trying to turn recent events in the Middle East into a "Who lost Iraq?" narrative is beyond obscene, especially, as Pierce notes, with the same Republican neocons (Sen. "Huckleberry Butchmeup" Graham, Sen. Marco "Glug Glug" Rubio and "J.E.B." Bush adviser Paul Wolfowitz) ready and willing to repeat the same disastrous mistakes all over again, with a new generation of someone elses children. That whirring sound must be George Santayana spinning in his grave.

UPDATE:  Ruben Bolling sums it up also (click on image to enlarge):

(Attribution: Ruben Bolling)

The Return of the Bunglers

With the ISIS-fomented sectarian violence in Iraq threatening to topple the al-Maliki regime, the architects / arsonists who created the web of lies that led us into Iraq 10 years ago are coming out of the woodwork to opine on what went wrong and next steps.  Of course, they won't acknowledge their miserable failure and deceit that led to this point, and their enablers in the Beltway media won't bother pressing them on it.  The clowns that were wrong consistently keep getting invited back to the talkfests.  Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks (NY), who voted against the initial invasion, was asked last night on "All In With Chris Hayes" if he'd been invited by the Sunday shows to talk about the current situation.  He hadn't been asked, adding:

"Which amazes me why each and every time they go right to John McCain.  I don't know when John McCain has had it right. Thank God the American people were smart enough not to elect him President of the United States. Why does the news media go to John McCain to ask him any time there's anything happening because you know he's going to be, 'go to war, send troops.  It just doesn't make sense."

 In addition to Sen. McBitter, we're seeing failed nation-builder Paul "Bummer" Bremer, Paul "What Sectarian Problems?" Wolfowitz, McNasty sidekick Sen. Lindsey "Huckleberry Closetcase" Graham, and the usual chickenhawks like Wee Willie Kristol pop up to blame the President for the fiasco they created and justify to this day.  Amazingly, they're treated as sage observers who have had a successful record in foreign affairs and national security, when they're anything but.

The best explanation of why the Beltway media continues to listen to them -- aside from the "both sides" disease -- is that they were complicit in selling the war and engaging in boosterism for years.  Continuing to treat these bunglers as wise men is the Beltway media's way of absolving itself from that original sin.

BONUS:  Here's Jon Stewart's masterful take on the "experts," including "Johnny 'Johnny Rotten Judgment' McCain."