historiblogography

man, can that clown tapdance

Victor Davis Hanson, March 2003:

Now the battlefield, Thucydides's harsh schoolmaster, will adjudicate what talk cannot. The only question remaining is not the ultimate verdict, but to what degree the past failure of allies to support the United States emboldened Saddam Hussein, cost the American military tactical surprise, complicated logistics, and needlessly raised casualties.

Victor Davis Hanson, March 2006:

As for the war itself: we will have to wait until it ends for final judgments. Obviously if we leave now, and it becomes Lebanon, then it was a tragedy; if we stay and it becomes the first stable democracy in the history of the Arab Middle East, then it will be a victory comparable to the Fall of the Berlin Wall. Time will tell — as well as our own nerve.

Apparently the harsh schoolmaster plays it pretty coy with his ultimate verdict. Who knew?

(See also...)

ADDED LATER: If you're up for a laugh, read this Weekly Standard profile of Victor Davis Hanson from March 2005, which contains one laugh-out-loud claim after another: "Hanson takes as his model the citizen-soldier, a humble creature of the land who puts down his hoe and takes up the rifle in a proud tradition carried on by America alone."

Ahhhh, yes, all the times Victor Davis Hanson has put down his hoe and taken up the rifle. Indeed. It's his model.

posted by Chris Bray @ 12:54 AM