Fiddling While the Oil Well Burns
I continue with my Bush-bashing theme by linking to an article by the incomparable Herb Meyer in the American Thinker.
Mr. Meyer makes the case that there is a sizable, growing number of Bush supporters who are disappointed in the President`s execution and prosecution of the War. These are people (like myself) who believe we are going at this far too gently, and that the war has dragged on because we are allowing our enemies to retreat into sanctuaries.
We are fighting a completely ruthless enemy, and we have to CRUSH them if we are to win this war. Furthermore, the Islamic world respects strength and holds weakness in contempt, and our policy of ``win the hearts and minds`` is foolish in the extreme because this is clear evidence of American cowardice and weakness. We won`t win ``the hearts and minds`` by simple kindness and forgiveness in this war. The neutrals in this affair have to see our strength as well as our power, then they will respect us. We will accomplish nothing without first winning their respect.
We also won`t accomplish anything as long as Syria and Iran can keep the pot simmering. There IS a similarity between this war and Vietnam, in that the enemies in both wars had sanctuaries they could retreat to, places which they could use as staging grounds and bases. The Vietcong had North Vietnam, Cambodia, etc. and the Mujihadeen have Syria and Iran. By sheltering terrorists who are killing American soldiers, these nations are in a state of war with us. We can`t win this if we don`t address this problem.
Which is what President Bush has been very poor in doing. The politicians have been managing this war, basing their actions on political need here in the States rather than on the requirements for victory. We have held back on Syria and Iran because of the fear of political fallout, and the political straitjacket the President finds himself in is a result of his mistakes regarding the weapons of mass destruction. President Bush did a poor job of articulating his reasons for going into Iraq, and the WMD issue became paramount. When we didn`t find ourselves tripping over weapons (as indeed we shouldn`t have expected after a year and a half of war preparation) the President conceded the issue-and put his credibility in the drink. (The President, as part of his ``new tone`` concedes most arguments so we can move on; unfortunately moveon.ogre remains stubbornly in the past.)
So now the President is afraid to broaden the war. He knows people are saying ``Bush lied and people died`` and he knows that an attack on Syria or Iran will punish him politically. So we continue on our merry way, watching 2 or 3 soldiers die each day while Iran forges ahead with Uranium enrichment. The average Joe is war weary, and the Democrats are gaining steam with their demands for a pullout timetable. I fear that when we pull out our friends in Iran and Syria will be taking over.
President Bush stated plainly that this is a global war, and that it will continue for some time. He is right. The genie will not go back in the bottle, and our enemies won`t go away through understanding and good will. We can`t make this go away by fiddling while the oil well burns; we have to prosecute this with all vigor. It`s time we got at it!
Mr. Meyer makes the case that there is a sizable, growing number of Bush supporters who are disappointed in the President`s execution and prosecution of the War. These are people (like myself) who believe we are going at this far too gently, and that the war has dragged on because we are allowing our enemies to retreat into sanctuaries.
We are fighting a completely ruthless enemy, and we have to CRUSH them if we are to win this war. Furthermore, the Islamic world respects strength and holds weakness in contempt, and our policy of ``win the hearts and minds`` is foolish in the extreme because this is clear evidence of American cowardice and weakness. We won`t win ``the hearts and minds`` by simple kindness and forgiveness in this war. The neutrals in this affair have to see our strength as well as our power, then they will respect us. We will accomplish nothing without first winning their respect.
We also won`t accomplish anything as long as Syria and Iran can keep the pot simmering. There IS a similarity between this war and Vietnam, in that the enemies in both wars had sanctuaries they could retreat to, places which they could use as staging grounds and bases. The Vietcong had North Vietnam, Cambodia, etc. and the Mujihadeen have Syria and Iran. By sheltering terrorists who are killing American soldiers, these nations are in a state of war with us. We can`t win this if we don`t address this problem.
Which is what President Bush has been very poor in doing. The politicians have been managing this war, basing their actions on political need here in the States rather than on the requirements for victory. We have held back on Syria and Iran because of the fear of political fallout, and the political straitjacket the President finds himself in is a result of his mistakes regarding the weapons of mass destruction. President Bush did a poor job of articulating his reasons for going into Iraq, and the WMD issue became paramount. When we didn`t find ourselves tripping over weapons (as indeed we shouldn`t have expected after a year and a half of war preparation) the President conceded the issue-and put his credibility in the drink. (The President, as part of his ``new tone`` concedes most arguments so we can move on; unfortunately moveon.ogre remains stubbornly in the past.)
So now the President is afraid to broaden the war. He knows people are saying ``Bush lied and people died`` and he knows that an attack on Syria or Iran will punish him politically. So we continue on our merry way, watching 2 or 3 soldiers die each day while Iran forges ahead with Uranium enrichment. The average Joe is war weary, and the Democrats are gaining steam with their demands for a pullout timetable. I fear that when we pull out our friends in Iran and Syria will be taking over.
President Bush stated plainly that this is a global war, and that it will continue for some time. He is right. The genie will not go back in the bottle, and our enemies won`t go away through understanding and good will. We can`t make this go away by fiddling while the oil well burns; we have to prosecute this with all vigor. It`s time we got at it!
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 5:49 AM
2 Comments:
I could not agree more. We should have pursued into Syria a long time ago. Then see what the Iranians would have done. At the very least we should do is arm insurgents in Iran against their very unpopular government of sharia law tyranny. Tyranny has much to fear from an armed populace. We are preventing civil war in Iraq. I say arm your friends and let them sort themselves out. BTW We have found small quantities of WMD but most were trucked over the border into Syria according to evidence that has not been used by our executive branch like it should.
Well said, Tim -- the administration seems to be in some sort of fog, just hoping for the best and trying to get to a place where they can pull out gracefully. Somehow Bush has lost his heart for this war and just keeps repeating the same worn-out phrases, while we allow the enemy to take sanctuary, as you said, just as they did in Vietnam. I hate to see our soldiers dying every day while politicians dither.
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