An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror

Dec. 30 - The things you learn when you can read tomorrow's news today: the Daily Telegraph (UK) reports that Hawks tell Bush how to win war on terror filed by David Rennie in Washington:

President George W Bush was sent a public manifesto yesterday by Washington's hawks, demanding regime change in Syria and Iran and a Cuba-style military blockade of North Korea backed by planning for a pre-emptive strike on its nuclear sites.

Demanding? Not urging, recommending, or advocating? and the use of the word "manifesto" seems to make much of a policy that has long been urged, recommended and advocated. That issue is more one of timing than of substance.

The manifesto, presented as a "manual for victory" in the war on terror, also calls for Saudi Arabia and France to be treated not as allies but as rivals and possibly enemies.

The manifesto is contained in a new book by Richard Perle, a Pentagon adviser and "intellectual guru" of the hardline neo-conservative movement, and David Frum, a former Bush speechwriter. They give warning of a faltering of the "will to win" in Washington. [The links provided were part of the article: the DT really gets the internet.]

We have a guru, and nobody told me? Danged thing is probably sitting in someone's blog and I haven't seen it yet. David Frum is a Canadian, by the way. There go those pesky Canadians again, stirrin' up the folks in Washington while there's still turkey leftovers in the fridge. [I have a great deal of respect for David Frum, in case my tongue-in-cheek was misinterpreted. He is one of my favourite reads at the National Review and was a columnist for the National Post up here before they decided to commit suicide.]

In the battle for the president's ear, the manifesto represents an attempt by hawks to break out of the post-Iraq doldrums and strike back at what they see as a campaign of hostile leaking by their foes in such centres of caution as the State Department or in the military top brass.

Battle for the president's ear. Leaking by their foes. Post-Iraq doldrums. Centres of caution as the State Department. I'm impressed. Ann Coulter is impressed. Neither of us have ever come close to such heights of alarmist and emotionally charged language. If this was a leaflet, I'd call it propaganda. Since this is a newspaper report, I guess it's yellow journalism. William Randolph Hearst is beaming with pride, and I'm not going to note Rennie's hyperbole further.

Their publication, An End to Evil: How to Win the War on Terror, coincided with the latest broadside from the hawks' enemy number one, Colin Powell, the secretary of state.

Though on leave recovering from a prostate cancer operation, Mr Powell summoned reporters to his bedside to hail "encouraging" signs of a "new attitude" in Iran and call for the United States to keep open the prospect of dialogue with the Teheran authorities.

Hurrah! Death Quotes Appear just when I've eschewed hyperbole! But wait, they're heaped onto Mr. Powell. What gives? Despite the placement in the article, I am fairly certain the book presentation was not on Sect. Powell's mind when he spoke to reporters. The fact that the Iranian government accepted aid from us means nothing, and the fact that they refused aid from Israel is far more significant.

Such talk is anathema to hawks like Mr Perle and Mr Frum who urge Washington to shun the mullahs and work for their overthrow in concert with Iranian dissidents.

What's wrong with that? Are we supposed to embrace them and try to help them stay in power?

It may be assumed that their instincts at least are shared by hawks inside the government, whose twin power bases are the Pentagon's civilian leadership and the office of the vice-president, Dick Cheney.

Hey, what about me? I'm a power base. I'm in the Constitution. I'm the part that says "We the people."

Such officials prevailed over invading Afghanistan and Iraq, but have been seen as on the back foot since the autumn as their post-war visions of building a secular, free-market Iraq were scaled back in favour of compromise and a swift handover of power next June.

The book demands that any talks with North Korea require the complete and immediate abandonment of its nuclear programme.

As North Korea will probably refuse such terms, the book urges a Cuba-style military blockade and overt preparations for war, including the rapid pullback of US forces from the inter-Korean border so that they move out of range of North Korean artillery.

Such steps, with luck, will prompt China to oust its nominal ally, Kim Jong-il, and install a saner regime in North Korea, the authors write.

The authoritarian rule of Syria's leader, Bashar Assad, should also be ended, encouraged by shutting oil supplies from Iraq, seizing arms he buys from Iran, and raids into Syria to hunt terrorists.

The authors urge Mr Bush to "tell the truth about Saudi Arabia". Wealthy Saudis, some of them royal princes, fund al-Qa'eda, they write.

The Saudi government backs "terror-tainted Islamic organisations" as part of a larger campaign to "spread its extremist version of Islam throughout the Muslim world and into Europe and North America".

The book calls for tough action against France and its dreams of offsetting US power. "We should force European governments to choose between Paris and Washington," it states. Britain's independence from Europe should be preserved, perhaps with open access for British arms to American defence markets.

Give credit where its due: there's a nice juxtaposition of words in that last paragraph: "tough [US] action" contrasts nicely with "French dreams."

I repeat: it's hardly a secret that we are going to have to confront North Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and France at some point. Anyone who thinks we'd be safe while Syria, Iran, France, North Korea and Saudi Arabia continue stirring up mischief fails to understand how big the threat is. Col. Khaddafi certainly understood that, and took actions to remove himself from The List. That option remains open to North Korea, Syria, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Posted by: Debbye at 10:05 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 976 words, total size 7 kb.