I know almost nothing about Lamont except that he is very, very rich and that he just won the Democratic primary for the senate seat in Connecticut that Joe Lieberman considered his own. For all I know, Lamont may or may not be of the extreme left wing of the Democratic Party.

But this much I do know. Support for an illegal, unprovoked invasion of a foreign country is not a moderate position and opposition to that same invasion is not extreme.

Support for the invasion of Afghanistan – and most people in most countries did support it – was a moderate position. Support for the first Gulf War – and most people in most countries did support it – was a moderate position. Support for the invasion of Iraq – opposed by most people in most countries – was extreme.

It was a distraction from the important business of fighting terrorism. It destroyed the unprecedented global cooperation with and sympathy for America. It has weakened America’s standing in the world and has resulted in the radicalization of large parts of the Muslim world. The Middle East is in flames and the parts that are not burning are supposedly developing nuclear-powered flame-throwers. It turned out that fighting them over there and fighting them over there were not – Surprise! Surprise! – mutually exclusive and there are now rather more of them than there were before.

The people who are responsible for this immoral and disastrous policy – and the people who claimed that criticism of the policy was somehow dangerous or unpatriotic – should not be allowed to escape without consequences. One consequence for politicians in a democracy is that they can lose elections. Joseph Lieberman just lost and for that, for now, I am glad.