Should supporters of the Iraq War shut up now?


With the situation in Iraq deteriorating, some observers are questioning whether or not the same hawks who boosted America's 2003 invasion should be given a platform to address today's crisis. For example, on her MSNBC show, Rachel Maddow said:
"It is very frustrating to see that this is the way we handle debates about foreign policy in this country," she said on her show. "We take people who were so provably, terribly wrong and bring them back and treat them like experts on the very subject they were wrong about. It is maddening." [Politico]
In fairness, a diverse group of of pundits, including Andrew Sullivan and Ezra Klein, supported the war. But they have admitted they were wrong. In that regard, the Washington Examiner's Byron York argues the architects of the invasion like Dick Cheney and Paul Wolfowitz — and advocates like Bill Kristol — ought to at least acknowledge past mistakes:
Rather than disqualify them from speaking out, it could lend depth and perspective to their proposals on what to do now. They don't have to grovel, even if that's what some of their adversaries want. They just have to concede they played a part in creating the problem they now hope to fix. [Washington Examiner]
That makes too much sense. It would never work.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Matt K. Lewis is a contributing editor at TheWeek.com and a senior contributor for The Daily Caller. He has written for outlets including GQ Politics, The Guardian, and Politico, and has been cited or quoted by outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. Matt co-hosts The DMZ on Bloggingheads.TV, and also hosts his own podcast. In 2011, Business Insider listed him as one of the 50 "Pundits You Need To Pay Attention To Between Now And The Election." And in 2012, the American Conservative Union honored Matt as their CPAC "Blogger of the Year." He currently lives in Alexandria, Va.
-
UK-India trade deal: how the social security arrangements will work
The Explainer A National Insurance exemption in the UK-India trade deal is causing concern but should British workers worry?
-
Man arrested after 'suspicious' fires at properties linked to Keir Starmer
Speed Read Prime minister thanks emergency services after fire at his former family home in north London
-
Elon Musk's SpaceX has created a new city in Texas
under the radar Starbase is home to SpaceX's rocket launch site
-
Qatar luxury jet gift clouds Trump trip to Mideast
speed read Qatar is said to be presenting Trump with a $400 million plane, which would be among the biggest foreign gifts ever received by the US government
-
Trump taps Fox News' Pirro for DC attorney post
speed read The president has named Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for Washington, replacing acting US Attorney Ed Martin
-
Trump, UK's Starmer outline first post-tariff deal
speed read President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Kier Starmer struck a 'historic' agreement to eliminate some of the former's imposed tariffs
-
Fed leaves rates unchanged as Powell warns on tariffs
speed read The Federal Reserve says the risks of higher inflation and unemployment are increasing under Trump's tariffs
-
Denmark to grill US envoy on Greenland spying report
speed read The Trump administration ramped up spying on Greenland, says reporting by The Wall Street Journal
-
Supreme Court allows transgender troop ban
speed read The US Supreme Court will let the Trump administration begin executing its ban on transgender military service members
-
Hollywood confounded by Trump's film tariff idea
speed read President Trump proposed a '100% tariff' on movies 'produced in foreign lands'
-
Trump offers migrants $1,000 to 'self-deport'
speed read The Department of Homeland Security says undocumented immigrants can leave the US in a more 'dignified way'