Andrew Sullivan takes Christopher Hitchens to task on his piece in Slate this week. Justly so.
The jaw drops:
Yes indeed, Iraq should pay for its own reconstruction. But, just before we all join hands on this obvious proposition, may we take a moment to apologize to Paul Wolfowitz? Of all the many slanders hurled at this advocate for Iraq's liberation, probably none was more gleefully bandied about than his congressional testimony that Iraq's recovery from decades of war and fascism could be self-financing.
Let me try to get this straight: a prediction that the entire war and reconstruction could be all but paid for by the Iraqis is vindicated by a $2 trillion expense to the American tax payer because five years after the invasion, Iraq's oil supplies are finally bringing in revenue. I mean really.
With such swift economic sensibilities, it's truly shocking that Wolfowitz didn't have more success as President of the World Bank. Wait, it wasn't his economics that got him fired?
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