KH: The Blog

I must admit I am a little frustrated with President Bush. Every time he seems to gain the momentum for action in Iraq time passes and we settle into limbo again. I am getting exhausted by all of the back and forth. Doesn’t there come a time when you either fish or cut bait? The critics cries of the “rush to war” are laughable. This has to be one of the most un-rushed wars ever.

The other thing that gets on my nerves is the bickering and arguing about everything related to Iraq. Don’t get me wrong I am all in favor of debate and discussion but I find it hard to believe that any new arguments are going to surface on this issue. Both sides are largely left to beat the dead horse into glue. I find it interesting how detailed and focused on minutia some have become. Some bloggers seem to see themselves as adjuncts to the CIA, State Department, or the National Security Council the way they pour over news accounts and grandly weave their strategies and marshall their arguments. I think that this is all a bit silly. As if one can simply read a half-dozen papers and watch CNN and suddenly you know what is really going on.

In the end I think the argument must happen at a higher level, conceptual, level. Should Saddam continue to defy the international community or not? The choice is between continued containment and UN debate or military action. The arguments are not that hard to lay out. The general public is really not equipped to know or understand the vast array of competing facts and contingencies on the ground in Iraq. At a certain point you must trust your elected officials to do what they think is best for the country. You can voice your opinion and seek to influence the debate but at some point action is going to be required and government officials with the knowledge and experience necessary are going to control those actions. The public will then have ample opportunity to judge whether those actions were responsible and in the nation’s interest.

I think Bush should lay it out one more time why he thinks military action is needed and then I think he should get started. It won’t be easy and I am sure it will not go exactly as planned but nothing ever does. But I fail to see how months of continued debate and the loss of momentum that entails makes anything any easier. Bush and Blair have made their case and have defended their ideals ably with their words. Now we need action.

P.S. BTW, I don’t think this makes me a “war monger.” I am not excited about war but rather believe if it is necessary than to delay helps no one. Secondly, I am not saying that Bush and Blair have convinced the world of their case. Honest people can disagree but leadership often means action when things are cloudy. I am simply hoping for clarity instead of the ongoing stagnation and hot air we seem to be experiencing currently.