
 |
|
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
|
| |
Jewish World Review
June 30, 2005
/ 23 Sivan, 5765
Iraq debate in transition
By
Tony Blankley
| 
|
|
|
|
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
One can contrast people in many ways: the fat and the thin, the
rich and the poor, those who play the tuba and those who don't. In assessing
the opinions of our Iraq policy, perhaps the most useful dichotomy is of
those who consider the consequences of acts and those who don't. In that
regard, special attention should be given to the opinions of Sen. Edward
Kennedy and some of the other war critics who are calling for a prompt
departure.
It is a well-established principle of developmental psychology
that young children have no sense of cause and effect. They live in a
magical world in which things just seem to happen. They don't understand
that if you pull a gun's trigger, a bullet will come out. They don't even
understand the finality of death. Things just seem to appear, disappear and
re-appear.
In fact, the earliest perception of cause and effect turns out
to be a false one. Babies cry, and a mother brings them milk. They cry, and
a mother brings them a blanket. They are thirsty, and water is brought to
them. They cry, and a mother changes their nappy. Thus the immature mind
develops the magical idea that the physical world can be manipulated by
merely wishing for something.
But usually by 5 or 6, and certainly by 8 or 9, the human mind
comprehends cause and effect, and tries to do things in the present that
will cause a desired future fact to come into being. Thus the mature mind
tends to think largely about the future.
And then there is Ted Kennedy and the exit strategy crowd. They
mock, ridicule and criticize the president's war effort but have never
described the consequences of their own policy of prompt withdrawal of
troops. Like the immature attitude of a young child, they don't like the
current circumstances in Iraq (as who does?) and simply want to wish it
away, with no consideration to the effect of such an action.
There are, in fact, valid grounds to criticize both the
president's war effort and his speech Tuesday night. While everything he
said was fine, he continues not to discuss with the public why more of the
same strategy will get a better result. While he justifies his current troop
levels on the advice of his field commanders, ultimately, it is the
president's decision. Many informed people suspect that the generals are
afraid to request more troops, because they don't think the president wants
to hear that. Whether that is the case or merely a nasty Pentagon rumor, we
clearly don't have enough troops to take and hold enemy territory, such as
Fallujah, where we lost several Marines last week even though it had been
cleared of terrorists several months ago. The president owes the country
more than bromides. He needs to publicly discuss, with some regularity, why
and how the causes he is bringing into being will have the effects that we
all hope for.
But his fundamental policy that we must stay until the Iraqis
can take charge because the effect of premature departure would be far worse
than the status quo has not only not been refuted, it hasn't even been
challenged. Almost all his critics simply don't discuss the effects of their
policy except, finally, the New York Times.
In a conceptually jumbled yet admirable editorial yesterday, the
NY Times actually described their view of the likely consequence of an early
exit: "The president does not have any good options available, and if
American forces were withdrawn, Iraq would probably sink into a civil war
that would create large stretches of no man's land where private militias
and stateless terrorists could operate with impunity."
It is left unstated, but a reasonable inference to draw from
that assessment is that it would be a safe haven for terrorists with designs
on attacking America. I would add a further likely effect of withdrawal to
be to vastly encourage bin Laden and the entire jihadist movement around the
world. Seeing cowardice in our running away from Iraq, they would be both
more contemptuous of us and more motivated to savage us here at home.
Let Ted Kennedy and his allies rebut the New York Times's
assessment of the consequences of Kennedy's policy proposal, and we might
actually have the beginning of a rational, forward-looking policy debate
instead of a screaming match.
Near the end of the N.Y. Time's editorial, they wrote a sentence
they should have written two years ago but thank G-d they have finally
written it. They endorsed a letter that "urged the American left to get over
its anger over President Bush's catastrophic blunder and start trying to
figure out how to win the conflict that exists. No one wants a disaster in
Iraq."
While I reject many side points in the editorial and certainly
don't consider the Iraqi war to be a blunder at all, The New York Times'
call to the Democrats to end the anger and start thinking rationally about a
successful future in Iraq, if heeded by the Democrats, could turn out to be
an historically more import utterance than the president's speech.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Tony Blankley is editorial page editor of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
Archives
© 2005, Creators Syndicate
|
|

Arnold Ahlert
Mitch Albom
Jay Ambrose
Michael Barone
Barrywood
Tony Blankley
Lori Borgman
Stratfor Briefing
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Richard Z. Chesnoff
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Alan Douglas
Larry Elder
Suzanne Fields
Frank J. Gaffney
Bernie Goldberg
Jonah Goldberg
Julia Gorin
Jonathan Gurwitz
Paul Greenberg
Argus Hamilton
Victor Davis Hanson
Betsy Hart
Ron Hart
Nat Hentoff
Marybeth Hicks
David Horowitz
Jeff Jacoby
Renee James
Paul Johnson
Jack Kelly
Ed Koch
Ch. Krauthammer
Michael Ledeen
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Kathryn Lopez
Rich Lowry
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Ann McFeatters
Dale McFeatters
Dana Milbank
Jeanne Moos
Dick Morris
Jim Mullen
Deroy Murdock
Judge A. Napolitano
Bill O'Reilly
Kathleen Parker
Star Parker
Dennis Prager
Wesley Pruden
Tom Purcell
Sharon Randall
Robert Robb
Cokie & Steve Roberts
Heather Robinson
Pat Sajak
Debra J. Saunders
Martin Schram
Culture Shlock
David Shribman
Roger Simon
Michael Smerconish
Thomas Sowell
Ben Stein
Mark Steyn
John Stossel
Cal Thomas
Dan Thomasson
Bob Tyrrell
Ben Wattenberg
Diana West
Dave Weinbaum
George Will
Walter Williams
Byron York
ZeitGeist
Mort Zuckerman

Robert Arial
Chuck Asay
Baloo
Chip Bok
Dry Bones
Lisa Benson
John Branch
John Cole
J. D. Crowe
John Deering
Brian Duffy
Everything's Relative
Mallard Fillmore
Glenn Foden
Jake Fuller
Bob Gorrel
Joe Heller
David Hitch
Jerry Holbert
Lee Judge
Steve Kelley
Jeff Koterba
Dick Locher
Jimmy Margulies
Rick McKee
Michael Ramirez
Kevin Siers
Jeff Stahler
Ed Stein
Danna Summers
John Trever
Gary Varvel
Kirk Walters

Mr. Know-It-All
Dr. Peter Gott
GET A JOB! by Marty Nemko
Richard Lederer
Frugal Living
Tech Maven
On Nutrition
Bookmark These
Bruce Williams
|