It must have been especially taxing on Gates to find
perspectives that would permit him to speak in the presence of a
commander in chief who has to accept responsibility for the
apocalyptic edge in the words spoken. If "failure" in Iraq is
conceivable, or even predictable, then responsibility for that
failure lies with the same commander in chief under whom Robert
Gates will now be serving.
Words used by Gates and by President Bush make it plain that
the ceremony, the installation of a new secretary of defense, was
political in nature. Same president, same insurgency in Iraq, new
secretary of defense, New York, New Haven and Hartford, as the
old comedy line used to interpose. But the challenge was squarely
put -- to the American people. And what will certainly be new,
and will soon be evident, is the attitude of the new Congress.
Will it find the means to reformulate our policy in the Middle
East, in such a way as to avoid calamity and restore national
credibility?
William F. Buckley
William F. Buckley, Jr. is editor-at-large of National Review, the prolific author of Miles Gone By: A Literary Autobiography.
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