Converts at the NRO

Not everyone at the National Review’s Corner is always blind. Lately, Andrew Stuttaford seems to be harping on Afghanistan, namely that the US efforts to eradicate poppies in the country is strengthening the hand of the Taliban. Today, he writes:

Who is losing Afghanistan?

George W. Bush, that’s who. His watch. His administration. His incompetence. His arrogance. His failure to learn from failure.

Now, the fact that one writer at an organization believes something doesn’t mean they all do. Not all Angry Bears agree on everything, and I’ve put up posts by readers with whom I don’t agree at all. But one would think that refering to things the rest of the world has accepted years ago – GW’s incompetence, arrogance, and failure to learn, would be something that would get some comment or notice from some other denizen of the Corner. After all, the idea that GW is incompetent, arrogant, and fails to learn is counter to the view of most of the writings that come out of the National Review – some of them have gone so far as to write that GW is potentially Mount Rushmore material.

And yet, the only comment so far seems to come from Michael Ledeen. Yup, he of the “Ledeen Doctrine.” He provides a bit of a defense of the poppy eradication program (it only goes to show – the administration cleverly got itself into a “damned if you don’t, damned if you do” situation), and concludes with: “Life is rarely so simple as that.”

You’d figure considering how many writers produce how many posts at the Corner on any given day, that a post criticizing GW for being what he is, incompetent, arrogant, and unwilling to learn, would generate something over there. But perhaps the folks over there aren’t as stupid as they often sound. Maybe, at long last, they know they can’t argue that point. But if that’s the case, why do they keep insisting on supporting the President’s policies on Iraq? Is it possible that GW could be incompetent, arrogant, and unwilling to learn when it comes to Afghanistan, and simultaneously competent, humble, and eager to learn when it comes to Iraq?