Hubris

To be fair to Mallaby, like all sensible beloved centrists he had some sensible things to say throughout the runup to the war. He furrowed his brow and fretted that maybe the Bush administration on rebuilding Afghanistan wasn't so hot, and maybe that should make us think twice about our excellent Iraqi adventure. He offered up some other concerns about the whole thing. But, really, the money quote is the one below:

All that said, however, the worst silliness in the Iraq debate comes from those who write off the war talk as an example of Bush's blinkered attitude to foreign policy. It is the critics who are blinkered, for it is they who refuse to see a real threat. And it is the critics, in many cases, who have called repeatedly upon the administration to engage in the world -- and who now pout and sulk because their calls have been answered.

There, in one neat paragraph, sums up the attitude of the Wise Old Men of Washington at the time. Yes, well, maybe the Bush administration is a bit blinkered. And, yes, I, as a Beloved Centrist in Good Standing, have a license to furrow my brow a bit in print. My criticisms and concerns are measured and serious, you see. But the real problem is, as it always is, those dirty fucking hippies who oppose the war.