NYT: U.S. Can Beat Insurgents, Rumsfeld Tells Troops

The New York Times > International > Middle East > The Secretary: U.S. Can Beat Insurgents, Rumsfeld Tells Troops: "'There's no doubt in my mind this is achievable,' Mr. Rumsfeld told troops in Mosul, where he visited some wounded in the bombing. He criticized those he called 'the naysayers and the doubters who say it can't be done, and that we're in a quagmire here,' saying there have always been skeptics who have second-guessed military campaigns."

Yes, there have always been doubters and naysayers, and sometimes they're right. The skeptics were right about World War I. The skeptics were right about Vietnam. In World War I, even the winners couldn't justify the price in blood. In Vietnam, Daniel Ellsberg and all the others who said we shouldn't fight there proved to be right. But by the time we realized they were right, it was too late. We had already lost.

We have to keep the big picture in mind. Yes, if the Middle East became peaceful and democratic during Bush's second term, the naysayers would have to admit they were. wrong. Too fast? How about in a generation? Would that show that the war was right? If you go too far into the future, you can't tell what's due to the war, and what's due to other causes.

In any case, history will show that we lost our position of leadership in the world as a result of the war in Iraq. No positive outcome in Iraq is worth that price. History will show that we lost, or could not win, the war against Al Qaeda because of the war in Iraq. No victory over the so-called insurgents in Iraq is worth that price. History will show that we committed a war crime by invading Iraq, that we violated the United Nations charter that we helped to write. No pipe dream from the incompetents in the White House, no matter how attractive or even successful in the long run, is worth the loss of our reputation.

What a cynical crew! When we say that we've lost our standing with the rest of the world, what do they reply? I'm not sure that we've had any reply at all from them. If they did reply, it's not hard to imagine what it would be. They would say, "It has always been thus: the number one nation in the world has to do things that aren't attractive at the time. And the nations that hate us now will forget what we did soon enough."

Get this crew out of here! We need leadership that sees clearly what we need to do.

Time to sign off for tonight.

P.S. It's Christmas Eve. Happy holiday, everyone. Remember our troops, who are away from their families this Christmas.