This Veterans Day is a time to honor the sacrifice of those who have served our country over the years. Given the military deployments now underway, they know their service is not being taken for granted.
The greatest respect our nation’s leaders can show the military would be a careful change in the policies that expose U.S. military units to increasing danger in Iraq. Voter anger over the ongoing violence in that country boiled over in Tuesday’s election – an election that followed one of the bloodiest months since the war began more than three years ago.
It prompted President Bush to dump Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who has made a mess of Iraq, and replace him with former CIA director Robert Gates. The move has brought widespread relief even if the options for dealing with Iraq are severely limited no matter who is in charge of the military effort.
Still, Gates has a reputation for being smart and a good listener without the prickly – and alienating – personality of Rumsfeld. Indeed, after his appearance with Gates, we couldn’t help but wonder how things might be different today had President Bush sought guidance earlier from the wise old hands who served in his father’s administration. Their reservations about Bush’s Iraq policy have been well known.
Another of his father’s top officials is about to move forcefully into the thick of Iraq policy debate. Former Secretary of State James Baker III is heading a congressionally authorized commission to study policy options. The so-called Iraq Study Group will be making its recommendations month. Until now Gates has been a member of the group, and he sharply criticized the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq war after a fact-finding visit there.
Upon being nominated, Gates made it clear immediately that he would seek the counsel of moderate Republicans whose advice has been brushed aside in recent years. Indeed, he is talking about bringing other key figures from the senior Bush administration into the policy discussion, like former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, one of those who has been candid in his assessment of the Iraq policy mess.
Before the elections, Bush declared repeatedly that the United States was winning in Iraq. He blasted political opponents who sought a more realistic strategy and vowed not to leave Iraq until “victory” had been achieved.
On Thursday, Bush sounded a more flexible note, saying, “I’m open to any idea or suggestion that will help us achieve our goals of defeating the terrorists and ensuring that Iraq’s democratic government succeeds.”
Bush’s re-awakening on Iraq could begin as soon as Monday, when he meets with Gates and other members of the Iraq Study Group. “The president’s looking forward to hearing their views,” said Bush spokesman Tony Snow.
The group will meet with Democratic leaders on Tuesday and convene after Thanksgiving to finalize their conclusions and recommendations.
Trying to come up with a solution will be a difficult task. Zbigniew Brzezinski, national security adviser to President Jimmy Carter, calls Gates’ nomination “the best Cabinet appointment that Bush has made.” Gates has strong credentials and the Senate should move quickly to confirm him.
Rumsfeld’s departure will be a relief to many of those in uniform on Veterans Day, not because he didn’t give full commitment and loyalty to his duties – he did – but because the implementation of Iraq policy has proved a costly disappointment.
On Wednesday, we were listening when prominent congressional war opponent Rep. John Murtha, a former Marine, was asked if newly ascendant Democrats would pull the funding from the military effort. He bristled and said, “Obviously, we’re not going to do that … . We have to protect the troops in the field.”
That’s exactly right. On this Veterans Day, we salute the soldiers in the field and look forward to a strategy that will bring them home.
