5/01 at DKos: Perle a #*$@ing idiot; 5/04 at NYT: Let's publish Perle

On Thursday -- "Mission Accomplished" Day -- we reminded ourselves of exactly how big of a #*$@ing idiot Richard Perle is and was.

He was, after all, the guy who wrote immediately following the Mission Accomplished Day Mark 1.0 that:

President Bush has led the United States and its coalition partners to the most important military victory since World War II.

And...

It ended quickly with few civilian casualties and with little damage to Iraq's cities, towns or infrastructure. It ended without the Arab world rising up against us, as the war's critics feared, without the quagmire they predicted, without the heavy losses in house-to-house fighting they warned us to expect.

And of course...

We will find Saddam's well-hidden chemical and biological weapons programs, but only when people who know come forward and tell us where to look.

Three laughably stupid assertions, even on the day they were made, and they've only grown more stupid with age.

So, how's the benefit of hindsight serving The New York Times? Brilliantly, as ever:

May 4, 2008
Op-Ed Contributor
Time to Cut the Cord
By RICHARD PERLE

Yes, because Richard Perle still owns a custom-tailored suit, he is worthy of publication on the New York Times Op-Ed page today.

Is he repentant? Not exactly. Though he starts off by implying that someone was a giant #*$@ing idiot five years ago. Just not him.

THE most important thing we can do to help the Iraqis and ourselves is to recognize — and reverse — the seminal mistake that followed the quick destruction of Saddam Hussein’s murderous regime: the foolish (however well-meaning) and arrogant belief that we know better than the Iraqis how to rebuild their devastated society.

Gee, I wonder how that "seminal mistake" got made?

It's not really worth anyone's time to analyze whether Perle's vision for Iraq has gotten any more clear-headed. It has, but only because he now recognizes that the ideas that led people to think that, um, certain American opinion leaders were giant #*$@ing idiots five years ago were in fact giantly #*$@ing idiotic. So, "Duh!" to them! Whoever they are.

The real question is why the NYT still feels it's doing anyone any good by collecting the three paragraph musings on Mission Accomplished Day Mark. 5.0 of the chief giant #*$@ing idiots who had it wrong on Mission Accomplished Days Marks 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, and 4.0.

The least they could do is say that the price of publishing their thoughts is an admission that they're giant #*$@ing idiots. And if they won't do it, do it for them. Use that little bit of italicized type at the bottom where you usually tell everyone what a genius the person is:

RICHARD PERLE was an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration and is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

And just add...

RICHARD PERLE was an assistant secretary of defense in the Reagan administration and is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. And a giant #*$@ing idiot.

See? Easy as pie. Corner office and a fat paycheck, please.