The March 2003 game

Many bloggers have picked up the March 2003 challenge and looked through their archives to see what they were writing then.

Atrios nailed it in real time (March 4, 2003):

Remember, back in the summer when the Iraq chatter started heating up in the media we would have Rumsfeld saying things like "why is everyone talking about Iraq? There are no plans for Iraq!" Then Andy Card mentioned the post-labor day marketing rollout. Suddenly we had the patriotism of people like Max Cleland being questioned. At every step, explosive new exciting evidence of Just How Dangerous Saddam Really Is was just around the corner. At each new unveiling, it was always conjecture at best and more generally lies and deception.

The worst part of all of this were the deliberate attempts to link Saddam Hussein to the events of 9/11. Nice way to exploit the deaths of 3000 people. I've been informed by readers that Republican congressmen have been telling their constituents during town hall meetings that there is "secret evidence" that Hussein was behind 9/11. Well, if Hussein was behind 9/11 why the hell is it secret and more importantly why the hell haven't we fired a missile up his ass yet?

Each step deception. Each step cynical exploitation. Each step complete incompetence. How the hell could ANYONE be on board with this?

I remember thinking the same thing at the time. And wondering whether the thinking of tepid supporters of the war was something on the order of, "Hey, it's just war."

At least the gung-ho pro-warriors on the streets with their signs were completely fooled. They believed that there was a connection between 9/11 and Saddam Hussein, and that Saddam would attack the U.S. again soon, the next time using his nuclear and biological weapons, which the incompetent and corrupt inspectors weren't finding, leaving us no choice but to invade.

Yes, these Americans were quite stupid to believe these lies. But they were sincerely stupid. The liberal hawks and informed pundits who supported the war don't have that excuse. Most believed few or none of the above lies -- and still supported the war.

Other takers:

Kieran Healy

Gene Healy

Raznor

And Stephen Silver shows Instapundit (who still seems to have no idea that he was wrong) how it's done:

In March of '03, I was wrong about the following:

- That the war in Iraq was a good idea.