A memo by outgoing Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld recommending changes in
U.S. strategy in Iraq is being spun in some quarters as a declaration of
capitulation. In fact, it is akin to what an assistant coach for an
under-performing NFL team might hand to the head coach, if the assistant
seeks to alter a game plan so that his team will win.
Winning in Iraq, however, does not seem to be a priority for growing numbers
of American politicians. They are like the crowd at a football game that
sees the home team losing and heads for the exits before the game is over,
only to miss the big comeback and victory. Unlike football, however, the
only "game" following a failure to prevail in Iraq will be one in which the
United States is the biggest loser.
In his memo, Rumsfeld's list of "above the line" options contain an element
of troop reductions, but his recommendations are designed to put progress
ahead of pullout, so that withdrawal follows the attainment of a more stable
Iraq, instead of impeding it. That is the main difference between the
Rumsfeld memo and the vociferous "withdraw now" crowd. Rumsfeld and
President Bush want to see an independent and stable Iraq achieved first.
The leak of the Rumsfeld memo precedes the Iraq Study Group report, due Dec.
6. About it, retired military officer Ralph Peters writes in The Weekly
Standard, "No matter the politically correct language in which it may be
couched, the group's fundamental recommendation will be to return to a
foreign policy in which the quest for stability trumps freedom, ignores
human rights, frustrates the will of ordinary people, and violates
elementary decency. By resisting change, the study group will only make the
changes that do come to the Middle East even more explosive and
anti-American."
There is something else the Iraq Study Group is unlikely to address. It is
the loss of fear by our enemies. The United States of America was once
feared and respected around the world. Once, few would have dared kidnap an
American because of certain retribution. The loss of fear started with Jimmy
Carter, who allowed followers of Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini to hold American
hostages for 444 days. It was no coincidence that Khomeini released the
hostages just 20 minutes after Ronald Reagan's inaugural address. Khomeini
must have believed reports that Reagan was a "cowboy" and might flatten Iran
with nuclear bombs.