
 |
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon With its colorful cache of purples and oranges and reds, COLLARD GREEN SLAW is a marvelous mood booster --- not to mention just downright delish
April 18, 2014
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Clarifying one of the greatest philosophical conundrums in theology
John Ericson: Trying hard to be 'positive' but never succeeding? Blame Your Brain
The Kosher Gourmet by Julie Rothman Almondy, flourless torta del re (Italian king's cake), has royal roots, is simple to make, . . . but devour it because it's simply delicious
April 14, 2014
Rabbi Dr Naftali Brawer: Passover frees us from the tyranny of time
Eric Schulzke: First degree: How America really recovered from a murder epidemic
Georgia Lee: When love is not enough: Teaching your kids about the realities of adult relationships
Gordon Pape: How you can tell if your financial adviser is setting you up for potential ruin
Dana Dovey: Up to 500,000 people die each year from hepatitis C-related liver disease. New Treatment Has Over 90% Success Rate
Justin Caba: Eating Watermelon Can Help Control High Blood Pressure
April 11, 2014
Rabbi Hillel Goldberg: Silence is much more than golden
Susan Swann: How to value a child for who he is, not just what he does
Susan Scutti: A Simple Blood Test Might Soon Diagnose Cancer
Chris Weller: Have A Slow Metabolism? Let Science Speed It Up For You
April 9, 2014
Jonathan Tobin: Why Did Kerry Lie About Israeli Blame?
Samuel G. Freedman: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Jessica Ivins: A resolution 70 years later for a father's unsettling legacy of ashes from Dachau
Matthew Mientka: How Beans, Peas, And Chickpeas Cleanse Bad Cholesterol and Lowers Risk of Heart Disease
April 8, 2014
Dana Dovey: Coffee Drinkers Rejoice! Your Cup Of Joe Can Prevent Death From Liver Disease
Chris Weller: Electric 'Thinking Cap' Puts Your Brain Power Into High Gear
April 4, 2014
Amy Peterson: A life of love: How to build lasting relationships with your children
John Ericson: Older Women: Save Your Heart, Prevent Stroke Don't Drink Diet
John Ericson: Why 50 million Americans will still have spring allergies after taking meds
Sarah Boesveld: Teacher keeps promise to mail thousands of former students letters written by their past selves
April 2, 2014
Dan Barry: Should South Carolina Jews be forced to maintain this chimney built by Germans serving the Nazis?
Frank Clayton: Get happy: 20 scientifically proven happiness activities
Susan Scutti: It's Genetic! Obesity and the 'Carb Breakdown' Gene
|
| |
Jewish World Review
July 11, 2007
/ 25 Tamuz, 5767
All we are saying is...
By
Cal Thomas
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
"All we are saying is give peace a chance," says John Lennon's anti-war protest song.
But though President Bush's recent remarks to the Greater Cleveland Partnership may have borrowed a page from Lennon's songbook, they sang quite a different tune to a pro-war beat. All Bush is saying is give Gen. David Petraeus a chance.
The president said, "I welcome a good, honest debate about the consequences of failure, the consequences of success in this war. But I believe that it's in this nation's interests to give the commander a chance to fully implement his operations. … I believe Congress ought to wait for Gen. Petraeus to come back and give his assessment of the strategy that he's putting in place before they make any decisions."
That is a reasonable request; especially since the progress report was originally slated for September. There has been progress against the enemy, as Sen. John McCain reported from his latest trip to Iraq. But the political season has begun and between Democratic politicians who are conducting their own insurgency against a weakened president a president they have helped weaken by their non-support of the war effort and a few Republican politicians whose only interest seems to be not the establishment of a stable Iraq, but the preservation of their jobs reasonableness has become a casualty of this struggle.
| FREE SUBSCRIPTION TO INFLUENTIAL NEWSLETTER |
| Every weekday NewsAndOpinion.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". HUNDREDS of columnists and cartoonists regularly appear. Sign up for the daily update. It's free. Just click here. |
|
The president said, "We can accomplish and win this fight in Iraq. …We must, for the sake of our children and our grandchildren." The president said that after Gen. Petraeus gives his report "then we can work together on a way forward."
That, too, is a reasonable request, but in a day when the hot air in Washington rivals the near-triple digit temperatures on the thermometer, asking politicians to do reasonable things and to embrace victory, rather than defeat, is like hoping for snow in July.
There ought to be no question that declaring defeat in Iraq will encourage every terrorist organization and nation state that means us harm. Defeat will not be the end of it; it will be the beginning of the end of us. Whatever political victory politicians might achieve by sustaining themselves in office will be lost to terrorists who will make sure that those who think they are secure in their congressional seats will face the ultimate insecurity in their homes and offices. Remember, the 9/11 airplane hijackers would have destroyed the Capitol Building were it not for the surge of the brave passengers on United flight 93.
Why is this so difficult for them to understand? It isn't difficult and it pains me to say it, but too many politicians would mortgage the nation's future in exchange for a few more years in office.
At the risk of repetition, it is not enough for the president to plead for patience and understanding. He must do more much more and he must do it immediately. He needs to open a second front a surge in the propaganda battle. He should directly challenge those who want to give-up to provide him with a specific plan to win the wider war against terrorists should the defeatists prevail and Iraq devolve into chaos and become a base for launching new terrorist acts throughout the world. They don't have such a plan and a challenge from the president would expose their empty and self-serving rhetoric.
Simultaneously, the president should bring to Washington Iraqis who are grateful for their liberation and wish to thank America for its sacrifice. Let them tell their stories of murder, rape and torture under Saddam Hussein and then let the mostly Democratic congressional leadership and those Republicans with terminal cold feet face them and tell them they'd be better off dead, or in prison.
The president expects our troops to be more aggressive, so he needs to demonstrate more aggressiveness at home.
The president was correct when he reminded the dwindling numbers listening: "I wish I could report that this … threat, this struggle is going to end shortly. It's not. That doesn't mean we have to have kinetic action all the time. But it does mean America must not lose faith in our values and lose sight of our purpose. And that's going to be the challenge facing this country."
It's up to him to ensure that we don't lose faith.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
JWR contributor Cal Thomas is the author of, among others, The Wit and Wisdom of Cal Thomas Comment by clicking here.
Cal Thomas Archives
© 2006, Tribune Media Services, Inc.
|
|
Columnists
Toons
Lifestyles
|