Thursday, January 11, 2007

Iran & Syria ... an Update   [Andy McCarthy]

As noted this morning, I admit to being underwhelmed by the president's threatening words to Tehran and Damascus last night.  But that doesn't mean I — or anyone else, I imagine — shouldn't be at least, er, whelmed.  Obviously, we need to have action that measures up to the rhetoric, and if we get it, that will be a welcome course change, even if it's not everything we want.  Unlike those of us carping from the peanut gallery, President Bush has a very tough political reality to deal with (see, e.g., Chuck Hagel). 

With that in mind, the raid on the Iranian consulate in Iraq's Kurdish region has to be welcome news.  We would certainly regard that as an act of war if the tables were turned.  (In reality, it is of course a measured, overdue response to serial acts of war by the mullahs.)  It'll be interesting to see how Ahmadinejad & Co., who like to bray about a world without America being achievable, react.

Meanwhile, Tony Snow was typically stellar on Rush's show a few minutes ago — both on the topic of Iran/Syria and other matters related to the new strategy.

My only quarrel is this.  Like the folks I spoke with yesterday, Tony made a point of saying that the President's warning doesn't mean we are going to be invading Iran or Syria — any military responses against Iranian/Syrian elements inside will, it appears, be inside Iraq.  OK.  But why tell them that?  Wouldn't whatever in terrorem effect we are hoping to have on these regimes be furthered by at least making them wonder how far we're willing to go?

In any event, the president is making courageous moves in the face of withering opposition to the war, including from some in his own party, that would melt a lesser man.  I can't pretend to sign on to all this stuff about a hoped for "democratic Iraq," and I continue to think it's a mistake to define victory that way.  But President Bush clearly understands that we absolutely cannot give al Qaeda and its abettors a victory in Iraq — on that, our lives depend.  He should be applauded for that.

01/11 02:02 PMShare