That's Why They Call Them Useful Something Somethings
From a Democratic staffer on the Hill:
Just about every Republican in the Iraq debate on the House floor today has cited and read from the O'Hanlon/Pollack op-ed to argue that we are making significant progress in iraq. Many Republicans have called them "left-wing scholars", as in "even lefties O'Hanlon and Pollack say we are winning."
Just sayin'......that is the political effect of that op-ed......which makes it even more infuriating given that both O'Hanlon and Pollack have walked it back since it was published.
Speaking of walking it back, here's O'Hanlon talking to Mark Mazzetti:
In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. O’Hanlon said the article was intended to point out that the security situation was currently far better than it was in 2006. What the American military cannot solve, he said, are problems caused by the inability of Iraqis to forge political solutions. “Ultimately, politics trumps all else,” Mr. O’Hanlon said. “If the political stalemate goes on, even if the military progress continued, I don’t see how I could write another Op-Ed saying the same thing.”
To reiterate something that may have gotten lost, O'Hanlon's not just a guy who writes op-eds, he's a job seeker regarded as having a good chance of securing a major post in the next Democratic administration.
Matthew Yglesias is a former writer and editor at The Atlantic.