Jewish World Review Nov. 21, 2005 / 19 Mar-Cheshvan,
5766
Bill O'Reilly
Congress and the Iraq war
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com |
President Bush is right when he says that politicians and media
who insist he "lied" or "misled" America into the Iraq conflict are damaging
the war effort and hurting the country. Many Americans are tired of hearing
Howard Dean and The New York Times whine about "misleading." If you have
verifiable information that the president knew there were no Iraqi weapons
of mass destruction but went ahead and invaded anyway, please post said
information. If not, please go back to demanding all Supreme Court justice
nominees embrace abortion.
And, by the way, please consult Dan Rather and Mary Mapes if you
are going to use documents to prove President Bush a liar.
For me, the issue is fairly easy. Bob Woodward, the hero of
Watergate, reported that CIA chief George Tenet told Mr. Bush face-to-face
that Saddam's possession of WMDs was a "slam dunk." I believe Woodward and
Tony Blair and a variety of foreign intelligence agencies who have
acknowledged believing Iraq had WMDs. Forgive me, but I don't believe Howard
Dean.
Anyway, let's do what's best for the country, shall we? Wouldn't
that be a nice surprise for all Americans? Let's get out of Iraq as quickly
as possible without allowing the terrorists a victory. Can we do that?
Maybe. President Bush must know the Iraq campaign is not turning
out the way he thought it would back on that naval ship a few years ago. The
mission of removing Saddam was accomplished, but many of his merry men are
still running around blowing up people. And no military machine on earth can
stop that. Terrorists will be assassinating folks long after all of us alive
today are dead and buried. If a nut wants to blow somebody up chances are
good the nut will succeed.
The problem for America now is that we have politicians trying
to get elected using the chaos of war. This is wrong. The USA is far better
off if Iraq becomes a stable ally against the terror jihad. There is no
denying that. So why all the undermining? Let's win the damn thing.
But there must be a time limit. Mr. Bush and his crew have to
understand that American blood and treasure are not unlimited. It is not
undermining the war to suggest giving the Iraqis a realistic private
timetable to defend themselves. Basic training for a U.S. soldier is six
weeks. We've been training the Iraqi army for almost two years now. Even
Gomer Pyle would be up to speed.
The polls show most Americans have turned against the war, and
who can blame them with the media pounding home a depressing picture every
day? And there are plenty of depressing images to show. Although most of the
country is pacified, Baghdad remains a nightmare. And that's the big dog.
Fox News correspondents tell me they can't go out for a cup of
coffee in the capital city because it's too dangerous. That's brutal. Based
on that scenario, the war is not being won.
But voting is happening, and business is being done. So let's
build on that and give the Iraqis a realistic time frame to fight their own
fight. I don't want to mislead anyone, but that's what the USA should do. We
need to get out of there.
Enjoy this writer's work? Why not sign-up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Bill O'Reilly is host of the
Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor," and author
of, most recently, "Who's Looking Out for You?" Comments by clicking here.
Bill O'Reilly Archives
© 2004 Creators Syndicate
|