Time’s Joe Klein Not On The ‘Things Are Getting Better In Iraq’ Bandwagon

They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Such might be the case with Time columnist Joe Klein, who despite a seeming parade of liberal journalists and analysts admitting that withdrawing troops from Iraq might not be a good idea right now, Klein has made it clear that he's not jumping on that bandwagon without a fight.

Hours after members of the Brookings Institution published a shockingly optimistic op-ed in the New York Times concerning the improved situation in Iraq, Klein felt it necessary to throw cold water on the celebration at Time's Swampland blog.

In fact, Klein seems so incensed by this Times piece that he forgot how to spell that which he's so anti (emphasis added):

I agree with many, but not all, of the conclusions Ken Pollack and Michael O'Hanlon reach in this NY Times column, but you really can't write a piece about the wae [sic] in Iraq and devote only two sentences to the political situation, which is disastrous and, as Petraeus has said, will determine the success or failure of the overall effort.

You think that misspelling was caused by the foam dripping out of Klein's mouth as he hurriedly pounded his keyboard with "anti-wae" venom? Fortunately, he must have wiped it off just in time for this dour conclusion:

Yes, progress has been made in the fight against the most extreme jihadis (AQI), but that should not be extrapolated into anything resembling optimism....And if we manage to put a major hurt on AQI--which is Bush's (current) rationale for us being there--what rationale remains for us staying there if the Iraqis themselves are intent on slaughtering each other?

It appears Klein has set himself up as the last "anti-wae" man standing regardless of what information might come out of the region suggesting that things are indeed improving, and this is a war we just might win.

That's the spirit, Joe!

Update 11:25 | Matthew Sheffield. Villainous Company has more on the Brookings op-ed and its implications for the media and the public.