The Deputy Editor of the Washington Post editorial page—i.e., the section of the paper that speaks FOR the WaPo—uses this column to further misperceptions about the real threat Afghanistan posed to us after 9/11.

The man surely knows better.  I mean, after all, he is a leader on the editorial page of the signature newspaper in the capitol of the world’s only hegemon.  He can’t be a dummy.

So, I submit that we should conclude that he’s deliberately painting a misleading picture of history, in order to further the preferred political ends of he and his colleagues: the success of Democratic politics.

In so doing, he abuses the public trust.

he chose to launch a war of choice in Iraq, thereby shredding what remained of post-Sept. 11 national unity and diverting attention and resources from the fight against al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

“he” being Bush 43, of course.

diverting attention and resources from the fight against al Qaeda in Afghanistan.

The implication here is that, at the time we invaded Iraq, the focus should have been on fighting al Qaeda in Afghanistan. 

Well, perhaps we should ask ourselves:  How BIG a threat was al Qaeda in Afghanistan by the end of 2002?

Answer:  to the US, not much.

• All the major AQ bases had long since been destroyed
• The remaining capable AQ fighters were either in hiding or in Pakistan

AQ in Afghanistan may have been a threat—to Afghans.  I don’t doubt that AQ was attacking Afghan villages here and there.

But, the AQ that used Afghanistan as a base from which to plot and launch 9/11 was long-gone.

Many Americans don’t fully comprehend that.

Jackson Diehl, deputy editor of the primary voice of the signature newspaper of the capitol city of the world’s most influential country, should comprehend that.

As a public servant, his writings should dispel misperceptions, not reinforce them.

And, as a professional journalist with years of experience, who has obviously risen to a high position, he certainly doesn’t write carelessly.  So, we should presume he chose these words with care.

Yet, his words reinforce a misleading impression of what the world was really like in 2002 and 2003.

Hmmm…I wonder why he would do this…