Sullivan and Iraq

Andrew Sullivan’s web page http://andrewsullivan.com/ is a political blog that typically provides quick responses to daily events and detailed critiques of material in other media. Media may include other media sites and even national newspapers. Sullivan makes certain to insert links in many of his blog posts. Unfortunately for the reader, Sullivan doesn’t explain the link or where it really leads to. It is up to the reader to figure that out. He does, however, critique the government of America and how it is being run in terms of the Iraqi conflict. He points out right away the disputes and hardship that the Iraqis are facing.

He provides certain quotes and graphics. He explains them very well. He, at one point or another used an Ad Homonym to attack Petraeus and the situation in Iraq by making Petraeus look like a fool. He reveals the fallacy that Petraeus is for this war but hasn’t really thought about it. Much of what Sullivan says is directly related to what government officials are doing in order to help (or hinder) the progress of America.

His work is fairly unbiased but tends to lean towards the democratic side. It is quite obvious his dislike in how things are being run by the Republican President and officials. On more than one occasion he uses rhetorical questioning to gain the reader’s interaction and make the reader truly think about what Sullivan is trying to say.

One major thing that caught my attention was his “no democracy = no Iraq” entry. He clearly believes that, unless all the tribes (Shiite and Sunni), there will never be the unity needed for a democracy or a full functioning country. There are also times where Sullivan, rather than explain things or comments on things, will post a video or link to a news website so the reader may get the information firsthand without having to get it with that biased edge.

Sullivan is also very descriptive. This helps the reader in figuring out what exactly Sullivan is trying to portray. From its presentation, it is as if Sullivan wants us to take in his thoughts in their entirety. The subject of the Iraqi conflict is discussed in multiple posts. In fact, it really all Sullivan is focusing on. He describes what is going on in the Iraqi conflict in a more empathetic nature. This is done by showing just how hurt and dysfunctional Iraq and its people really are.

Last major discussion topic Sullivan loves to hit on: government officials. Sullivan is constantly using the Ad Homonym approach when talking about officials. He makes it seem like they are not very intelligent sometimes; and, at best, he presents them as ignorant. Sullivan is obviously getting down and dirty with the government, the officials representing the American people, and the Iraqi conflict itself.