"Experience has taught me this, that we undo ourselves by impatience."
- Michel De Montaigne, essayist (1533 - 1592)
David Brooks, a New York Times columnist, has written an excellent article* about the significance of staying the course in Iraq:
"Somehow, over the next six months, until the Iraqis are capable of their own defense, the Bush administration is going to have to remind us again and again that Iraq is the Battle of Midway in the war on terror, the crucial turning point where either we will crush the terrorist's spirit or they will crush ours."
What bothers me is the possibility that the constant criticism from Bush's detractors in the media and the opposition party will negatively impact the resolve of the American people. The President has said we will stay in Iraq until the job is complete, but even if we are able to get Iraq back to some semblance of stability in a reasonable amount of time, the war on terror will be far from over. In fact, it may be with us for decades.
Do we have the stomach for such a long, arduous campaign against these fanatics whose primary goal in life is to do us harm? I'm not sure that we do, and I'm almost certain that those who fight us don't believe that we do. And why do I believe that? Just look at our record from Vietnam forward. We've cut and run a lot. Our enemies know this.
When I discuss this with my friends and acquaintances, I hear much resolve, but I also observe a wishfulness in each of their faces that tells me they want things to get back to "normal" as soon as possible. But normality, as we once defined it, may never reappear. That's a hard pill for any of us to swallow, no matter how committed we are.
*You must fill out a short registration form to view the Times article. Sorry for the inconvenience.
3 comments:
Thanks for the link to the article. Really enjoy your journal and all the information you bring to me. I will visit often.
Again, I agree totally with you. No one ever said the war on terrorism was going to be easy. Certainly President Bush didn't say it would be easy. I keep thinking about Germany and Japan. Those were two countries in a terrible mess at the end of the war. We need to stay the course and get used to the idea that "peace" is not the natural order of things.
Iraq has nothing to do with the war on terror. It was an illegal invasion under a false pretext. The UK and USA are now stuck there, to prevent civil war.
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