When he took the oath as secretary of defense, Robert Gates
was weighed down by factors he couldn't ignore and couldn't
alter. We are continuing to search for just the word that
describes the U.S. mission in Iraq. But you can't do it, given
American sensibilities, in the presence of the doommaker, and
President Bush was the dominant figure at the ceremony.
Robert Gates minced no words on the matter of the
responsibility we have in Iraq. He acknowledged the final
objective, which is "to find a way to bring America's sons and
daughters home again." But that will happen the day after
tomorrow. What happens tomorrow is a continuation of the
struggle, because "failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a
calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and
endanger Americans for decades to come."
What can Mr. Gates mean when he speaks of failure "at this
juncture"? The same day he spoke, the Pentagon reported that
attacks against American and Iraqi targets had surged to their
highest level recorded so far. The insurgents punctuated their
mission by reducing electricity in Baghdad to dangerously low
levels. "Now Baghdad is almost isolated," said Karim Wahid, the
Iraqi electricity minister. "We almost don't have any power
coming from outside." If we proceed with a surge in American
manpower, is it expected that fresh troops will bring their own
electricity?
The American public hasn't been informed on the matter of
whether we will send reinforcements to Baghdad. One element in
the decision whether to do so will surely be the fact that there
aren't millions of young men and women pounding at the recruiting
offices' doors asking to be sent over to do duty in Iraq.
Exchanges of opinion on the matter of an increase in manpower in
Iraq express the ambivalence of the high command. President Bush
has said that he doesn't want to be rushed into a decision on
extra troops. So what is he waiting on?
Mr. Gates has said that he will personally visit Iraq in the
days to come, but this assurance brings no confidence. Personal
visits to the scene don't have the magical effect that once upon
a time they did. Candidate Dwight Eisenhower promised, in 1952,
that if elected president he would personally visit Korea. He did
so, and the war eased up. But there were other contingent
developments (Stalin died), and there is nothing to assure
Secretary Gates that a visit to the war front will bring fresh
illumination.