November 20, 2005

How incredibly typical...

PowerLine: "The Democrats aren't paying attention, but the war in Iraq is steadily being won."

Their proof: Jordanian newspapers, run by al-Zarqawi's relatives, have severed ties with him for his bombings in Jordan. "[A]nyone who carried out such violence in the kingdom does not enjoy its protection," it says.

Let me repeat what PowerLine claims this means: "the war in Iraq is steadily being won."

Here's a map of the Middle East:
If you failed first grade geography, Jordan and Iraq are separate countries on this map.

Does it say anything about our success in Iraq that Jordanian people are refusing to offer succor to Zarqawi, but only did so because he attacked Jordan itself? These people didn't cut ties with him because he was killing Americans. They cut ties with him because he killed Jordanians. I'm not going to pull out a world map here because I assume my readers can tell that Jordan and the USA are separate countries as well.

Yes, this is a global war on terror. But it is one that needs to be analyzed correctly, and PowerLine's post is one of the best examples I have ever seen of attributing causality when there is absolutely no basis for it. That kind of thinking is not only ridiculous, it is foolish and dangerous. I thought a Dartmouth education (PowerLine is run by Dartmouth grads) taught better logical reasoning than that.

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