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The War Without and the War Within Bill Kristol wants a war – if not across the Middle East,
at least on Pennsylvania Avenue. Yesterday,
the publisher of the Weekly Standard penned a piece for the Washington
Post entitled, “Bush vs. Powell.”
He writes, “Since his speech to Congress last Thursday, virtually every
major political figure has gone out of his way to support the President.
Except for his secretary of state.”
Problem is, Mr. Kristol has misdrawn the battle line, for the struggle
isn’t between the State Department and the White House. It’s between the
advocates of war and more war. Powell
and the President are one side; Kristol
and his neo-conservative cronies are on the other.
Standard coalitions have broken down, and the usual Left/Right labels no
longer apply. Last
Friday, Mr. Kristol and a who’s who of 41 neo-con notables published an open
letter to President Bush. They
“fully support [his] call for ‘a broad and sustained campaign’…” –
emphasis on “broad.” Not only
is bin Laden in their sights, but also Iraq, Hezbollah, Iran and Syria should
they “refuse to comply,” as well as the Palestinian Authority. The Wall
Street Journal stretches the dragnet over “Syria, Sudan, Libya, and
Algeria,” not to mention “parts of Egypt.”
National Review, between breathless entreaties to “End
Iraq,” also advocates "Ending
a few recalcitrant terrorist-friendly regimes in the Middle East,” while
Kristol’s own Weekly Standard targets “any group or government
inclined to support or sustain [terrorists] in the future.” Mr. Bush has other plans.
Libya, Syria, Iran, and the Palestinian Authority have all denounced the
attack, and the President has offered a “from this day forward, any nation
that continues…” amnesty clause. Thus
far, the shadow states seem willing to play that get-out-of-jail-free card.
The choice between Powell’s coalition and Kristol’s conflagration is
none too difficult. Unlike the neo-cons bucking to make September 11 a catalyst
to club Israel’s enemies, the primary aim of the Bush Administration is a
tightly drawn bin Laden search and destroy mission. From there, we will take the battle to the tentacles of his
terror network – fighting an organization rather than nations.
President Bush’s focus is the perpetrators, their support system, and
similar terrorist groups, not war on Islam writ large.
To that end, he is forging alliances that in their fragility preclude the
neo-cons’ goal and the terrorists’ ultimate ambition:
a full-blown war across the Middle East that we have neither motive nor
manpower to fight. Two days
after the terrorists struck, Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz advised
“ending states who sponsor terrorism.”
Powell responded, "I think ending terrorism is where I would like to
leave it, and let Mr. Wolfowitz speak for himself.”
According to the Washington Post, “Privately, Powell had told
Wolfowitz that his plan would ‘wreck the coalition’ of countries Bush has
been assembling.” The implication is clear: Powell and the President do not disagree and will not be divided by a headline. Though Kristol dares Bush to “lead and demand that Powell follow,” the pair are already moving together -- away from his counsel and in the direction of reasonable response. Click here for printable version. Click here for Daily Column Archives.
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