While there are many things to criticize about his analysis, I chose to write him a letter addressing the fundamental flaw of his argument that the Moveon.org ad somehow denigrates our men and women in uniform. Here is what I wrote:
Dear Mr. Kristol:
While I agree with your abstract point about the need for men and women to serve in our armed services and defend our country against enemies, I don't think your column responds to the Moveon.org ad directly. The point the ad is making is that the mother does not want to send Alex specifically to Iraq, a war that is widely viewed as a mistake for verifiable reasons I won't enumerate here. John McCain is proposing that we may be there for decades, which in the future would require the service of young men and women who are currently wearing diapers.
What you and other conservatives don't seem to understand is that the American people are angry and feel betrayed by their government - namely Bush, Cheney and the Republican leadership - for selling them a war with false information about WMDs and terrorist ties, promising that the war would be short and that we would be greeted as liberators, and promising that the war would require fewer than 150,000 troops and that Iraqi oil would pay for most of it. Now, 5.5 years later, $700 billion later, 4,500 dead soldiers later, we are still in Iraq with very little progress to show for it, because the mostly Republican policy-makers did not plan and execute an effective and winning war strategy. (Before you start bragging about the minor gains achieved by the so-called Surge, let me remind you that it took less than 4 years for the United States to defeat both Japan and Germany, despite entering the war with a crippled Pacific fleet and an American public weary of entering another world war.) Had Americans been told in the beginning that we would be tied up in Iraq for 50 to 100 years and that there were no verifiable WMDs or terrorist ties, we may have thought twice about allowing our president and representatives to vote for war. Now, the American people want accountability. Since Bush and Cheney are not going to be held accountable, the Republican party is likely to bear most of that responsibility by losing seats and the White House in November.
Fair or not, Moveon.org's ad is channeling the anger and resentment that is felt by so many Americans. It is not an attack on soldiers or their families, the people who have been most abused by the lies and incompetence of this administration. Rather, it is a declaration that we will not allow other parent's children to be sent off to die in wars that are illegitimate and ill-conceived, and the people will hold political leaders who attempt to do so accountable for their actions.
Further to the point, for all of your indignation about Moveon.org's denigration of men and women in uniform, I am curious, what indignation did you show when right-wing 527s were questioning the patriotism and military records of John Kerry and Max Cleland, two true American heroes who fought bravely and were injured for our country during wartime? If you have that article, please forward it to me. I would love to read it.
Best regards,
