Kissinger has spoken

CNN’s QuickVote today asks the question “Do you agree with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger that a U.S. victory in Iraq is no longer possible?”

The only sensible answer is “Yes, of course”. However, it was never, ever possible for the U.S. to win in Iraq. Rumsfeld & Co of course messed up in a big way, but even if they had done everything “right”, victory for the U.S. would also not have been possible. Because occupation forces can never win, no matter how much “good” they do (and usually they do a lot of bad).

So what about the Allied occupation of Germany and Japan following World War II? Well, that’s different because the fascist regimes of those countries invaded other countries, they were the occupiers in the first place.

Kissinger has only said the obvious and that doesn’t make him clever. He should have said this before the U.S. invaded Iraq… Which of course he didn’t. In 2005 he wrote that victory over the insurgency would be the only meaningful exit strategy. Which of course means a permanently blocked exit until being thrown out by the same insurgency.

But maybe his latest pronouncement will convince a few Republicans that it’s time to cut and run.