More throat-clearing, this time from the Independent

Well, now it's the Independent's turn to engage in speculation that Bush may, just may, have been right about something. In this, the Independent is following in the footsteps of the NY Times. Try to form, though, the Independent just can't resist the usual hedgy "throat-clearing." Eating crow is just too hard; it sticks in the craw and must be coughed up every now and then.

Here is a good discussion of the fact that the Independent article gives only partial and reluctant credit to Bush. But I want to give special mention to a sentence from the Independent that particularly bothered me; the author just could not resist reiterating the same tired old inaccurate accusation, to wit, "The 2003 invasion of Iraq may have been justified by a giant fraud..."

"Fraud." "Lie." With no evidence whatsoever that the WMD claims were anything other than an honest mistake. These people are really, really starting (no, not just starting, but continuing) to bug me with their sophistry. They just cannot resist the dig, even (or perhaps especially) when throwing the much-maligned neocons a bone.

And anyway, what's so "difficult" about admitting Bush may have been right, especially when the news about which he may have been right is so wonderful? Maybe even harder than admitting Bush may have been right is to admit that they may have been wrong, and that's the reason for all this "throat-clearing." It's a way to say, "Well, I may have been wrong about one thing--but still, I sure wasn't wrong about everything." And that need--the need to not be wrong--may be one of the most universal human traits, as has been so amply demonstrated lately.

UPDATE: And now Le Monde climbs aboard the democracy train, despite a slight cough, not wanting to be left behind or to leave all the good seats to those cowboy Americans (courtesy Belgravia Dispatch). Since I don't speak French, I read the Le Monde article in the always-amusing babelfish translation, and it appears to me that these Le Monde throat-clearings (what Belgravia Dispatch refers to as a "grudging nod") are relatively mild compared to similar sounds recently made by the Times and the Independent. My guess is that the relative mildness of Le Monde might be due to the fact that this latest democracy eruption has occurred in Lebanon, a country in which France has a special interest and historical ties.