Bush haters in the media such as the tag team of Paul Krugman and Bob Herbert at The New York Times along with Arianna Huffington and her gang of Hollywood Acolytes at The Huffington Post complained constantly all week long that the president pitched no new ideas in his prime time speech from Fort Bragg last Tuesday. President Bush’s single note theme recurring in many speeches is commonly known as resolve.
Fighting a war is not a political campaign driven by poll numbers. A leader sets the bar, in this case very high, and sticks to it to a logical conclusion. Mr. Bush telegraphs of the same message over and over: We're in Iraq, and we're staying in Iraq. This message is not exclusively for domestic consumption.
An important audience segment evaluating Mr. Bush’s resolve is not from our shores yet important to the war effort. Foreign leaders understand resolve in their fellows even if American pundits do not. Mr. Bush’s oft stated resolve was heard and understood by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who on Sunday strode out of a meeting in Kaliningrad, Russia with French President Jacques Chirac and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder to make a statement supporting the United States in Iraq.
Mr. Putin as part of a talk on European Unity said, ``All of the disagreements on the Iraqi problem must remain in the past. All countries should join together in efforts to stabilize Iraq, so that the Iraqi people can take responsibility and take their fate in their own hands.''
The Russian President may not have voiced the new stance on the same podium with the Mr. Schroeder and Mr. Chirac, but Mr. Putin would hardly blindside the two leaders meaning discussion in private on the subject. What we have here is the tacit approval of France and Germany to Mr. Putin’s statement supporting the United States.
A little background here for the say it isn’t so readers from the left. Germany needs U.S. support for their run at a Permanent U.N. Security Council Seat. Russia has its own very special problems.
The song by Steelers Wheel is most instructive here:
Clowns to the left of me (North Korea, China)
Jokers to the right (Islamic Fascism)
Here I am stuck in the middle with you (USA)
France, playing the supporting role for Germany if one were to hazard a guess.
Now that some very key allies have come to their senses and rung in with their let by gones be by gones, the U.S. can move on to the important job of securing Muslim troops for Iraq. The soon to be Egyptian Ambassador to Iraq, Ihab al-Sheeif, was kidnapped Sunday morning in Baghdad while buying a newspaper. Mr. al-Sheeif must not be very bright, since he drove around the city alone without any protection. To further compound this security lapse, he is the second Egyptian representative to be snatched in Baghdad. The first was freed after a short time in captivity when an Egyptian promise not to join the Multinational Force was issued. Mr. al-Sheeif may not be so lucky.
Luck is nowhere near the Egyptian Envoy’s side; Dr. Safa Ali Chaid Mashul was captured by the Multinational Force in Baghdad in late June. The English speaking Dr. Mashul was primary care giver and interrogator for hostages taken in the Baghdad area.
The terrorists (never refer to them as insurgents) through the kidnapping of a diplomat seek to deny the Government of Iraq the embrace of the Arab world through diplomacy, a very risky play possibly forcing the hand of Egypt. Showing weakness in the Middle East is death. Hosni Muburak, President of Egypt, knows this fact, yet he’s already shown weakness once.
While Egypt’s resolve is tested by terror, India is another country mentioned as a possible troop contributor. A country like India considering placing forces Iraq must hear, after incessant Democratic attacks, that Mr. Bush will not be swayed by internal political debate. India must understand that Mr. Bush has the will and staying power to say the same thing over and over again in the face of poor poll numbers to know the president will not run out of Iraq if India decides to place troops there. India and Egypt are leaners to whom Mr. Bush spoke clearly last Tuesday.
My view is only a fool would walk away from so much expended blood and treasure, but we have a lot of Liberal Democrat fools in this country. Fortunately, these fools are girding for the battles of their political lives trying to fend off Mr. Bush's two looming back to back Judicial picks. The silence from the Left on Iraq will be most welcome allowing reason and calm to rejoin the debate. Let the basis for that debate be the U.S. troop commitment in Iraq through at least mid-2009 no matter which party gains the White House next go round. It’s called resolve - also known as leadership.
David Moon
TNcolmoon2@aol.com