Attorneygate & the 'What Would Rudy Do?' Factor

I am a distinct admirer of President Bush. He is a leader by any accurate and relevant definition of the term. He has conviction and moral clarity and is willing to do the right thing and pursue the nation’s long-term interest even when doing so comes at a steep political cost to himself, as has been demonstrated by his dogged perseverence in Iraq. That feature is too rare among our political leaders today, and I sincerely hope and expect history to judge him kindly for it.

But I must admit that his largely passive behavior in this current ”scandal” over the eight dismissed U.S. attorneys is disheartening. The behavior of those Congressional Democrats pursuing it is of a purely political and substanceless nature, and the president should have asserted as much when this furor first erupted. He should have made it clear that he had every right to fire the attorneys under the Constitution, as did President Clinton when he fired all 93 U.S. attorneys at the beginning of his presidency, and that neither he nor his administration would be a party to the Democrats’ hackish political games.

But he didn’t, and his failure to do so has, as Fred Barnes points out, “encouraged his Democratic foes to be even more belligerent and discouraged his Republican allies.”

The reason I even discuss this is that I think this situation illuminates a large reason for Mayor Giuliani’s lead in the GOP primary polls. Given his record in Gotham–and his temperament, personality, and leadership style–a President Giuliani would have stood up for himself and his administration and he would have called out the Democrats and their behavior for what it was.

This is what Republicans want, a leader who will stand up for himself and his administration. We want someone who won’t suffer such political hackery in silence. A President Giuliani wouldn’t, and that is why he is receiving as much support as he is at this point.

Iraq War Anniversary

As we mark the fourth anniversary of the Iraq War this week, the nation honors those brave Americans who have given what Lincoln called "the last full measure of devotion" there. Our fallen warriors were and always will be American heroes, and their lives and their sacrifices will not soon be forgotten. Though the world is a little less bright without them, it is also a little more free and secure because of their efforts.

But as much as this week is a time to reflect upon what we have done in Iraq and what we have lost, it is also a time to contemplate where we are and where we plan on going. Most of all, it is a time for the country to decide how we shall best honor those who have fought and died in the desert sands of Iraq, and how we will honor those who continue to fight and die today.

It is beyond debate that for months Iraq has been a chaotic mess, mired in a seemingly endless cycle of sectarian strife and bloodshed, with Sunni killing Shia and Shia killing Sunni. I do not deny that in a sizeable degree the circumstances which facilitated this perpetual state of crisis were the results of the Bush Administration’s mismanagement of American strategy on the ground.

Some now, in consideration of these failures and of the loss of life suffered there, conclude that we must take our leave from Iraq, whether it be precipitously, gradually, or in accordance with a fixed timetable. America’s venture in Iraq has been a case of one blunder followed by another, goes this rationale, and the costs of our presence there are no longer–or never were–justified.

I respect this conclusion, and recognize the sincerity and noble intentions of those who assert it; but I cannot and do not share it. Past failure and adversity have never been a reason to quit, least of all to Americans. Failure and the adversity it presents is instead the point at which we must dust ourselves off, adapt, and re-dedicate ourselves. I apply this principle to our mission in Iraq, for if it is not appropriate here then it is not appropriate anywhere.

Even with all of his previous mismanagement and failures in Iraq, the president at the very least understands this. Our strategy in Iraq has been adapted and altered, and the initial returns are promising. Violence within Baghdad is decreasing, civil life and the economy are beginning to pick up, and limited but existential political progress is being made.

In full recognition of this we must stay in Iraq until our original objective of seeing the nation of Iraq achieve a stable, representative, vibrant, and self-sustaining republic is realized.

Every single American wants to bring home our men and women from Iraq yesterday. But all actions have consequences, and to retreat from Iraq would incur upon our nation consequences far worse than staying there would.

American withdrawal would lead to a rapid descent into a sectarian war in Iraq of a lethality we have not previously witnessed. The ramifications of such a cruel tempest would be as destructive and toxic as they are predictable. Massive sectarian carnage would immediately ensue, destabilizing amounts of Sunni refugees would flee for their lives into neighboring Sunni nations, and an anarchic vacuum would cause Iraq to rapidly devolve into the world’s newest terrorist base and safe haven, from which terrorist operations could be waged in the Middle East, Asia, Europe, and, as we all witnessed on September 11, 2001, the United States of America.

I want America to leave Iraq as much as the most strident peace protester, but the consequences of such an exodus would simply be too catastrophic to condone.

If for nothing else, we cannot retreat from Iraq because fulfilling our mission in Iraq is the best way to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the pursuance of it. As cruelly and unbearably tragic as each of their deaths are, it would be an even greater tragedy if they were to have died in vain for a mission we simply abandoned. Let us never realize such a day.

On this fourth anniversary of the Iraq War, in full remembrance and appreciation for our slain heroes, "It is for us the living," to quote from Lincoln once more, "to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they...have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be...dedicated to the great task remaining before us...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall have not died in vain." If for none other, let this be the reason we dedicate ourselves to victory in Iraq.