William Jefferson Clinton has been on the receiving end of more
magnanimity from George W. Bush than he has any reasonable right to
expect. Ignoring the history of insults and slights his family has
suffered at the hands of his predecessor, President Bush has repaid
this ill-treatment with a large dose of Christian charity.
And what has the president received in return for this largesse?
Much as he did when he was actively dodging the draft in the '60s,
Bill Clinton has taken to traveling the world denouncing our
country’s military efforts, recently calling our handling of Iraq
“a big mistake.” Worse yet, his remarks were made mere miles away
from where U.S. troops are fighting and dying in defense of
liberty.
Likewise, Pennsylvania Congressman John Murtha has been in the
news, calling for an immediate withdrawal of regular troops from
the Iraq arena and tearfully rebutting criticism from Dick Cheney
and others with the notion that those without combat experience
should stay out of military affairs.
This absurd idea, though not a new concept, has been applied
inconsistently, especially by liberals. It is interesting to note
that the two most revered Democratic presidents of the 20th
Century, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Clinton had no military
experience whatsoever. This did not stop Clinton from defeating two
war heroes at the ballot box or Roosevelt from successfully
prosecuting World War II.
The truth is that battlefield experience or lack thereof should
no more enhance or diminish the effectiveness of elected officials
than say, Senator Robert Byrd’s ability to legislate racial issues.
But the issue of military service goes more to the question of
character than of any perceived insight into a person’s capacity to
direct a war. And that’s the problem concerning our efforts in
Iraq.
It seems from their most recent words and actions, that some on
the left still do not understand that most of the troops in Iraq
want to be there and that all have volunteered for military
service. The next time your liberal friends shed crocodile tears
over the deaths of 19 and 20 year-olds in Iraq, ask them: Did these
heroes join up before or after the war started?
Liberals seem unable to comprehend the idea that there are those
who see military service as a noble and altruistic calling. A great
man once said, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay
down his life for his friends.” Still, many Democrats now want to
undercut the mission of these brave men and women and diminish
their sacrifice by suggesting that we abandon Operation Iraqi
Freedom.
Helen Thomas, who seamlessly switched careers from reportage to
commentary — with no noticeable difference in content — recently
summed this up nicely by urging Democrats to adopt a new Iraq strategy:
The Democrats should also try to bolster the U.N.
budget to finance a takeover of Iraqi security by the U.N. “blue
helmet” peacekeepers… Former President Jimmy Carter, a Nobel
peace prize winner, would be the best emissary to explore the
possibility of a peaceful reconciliation between Iraq’s divided
religious and ethnic factions — the Shiites, Sunnis, and
Kurds.
It is hard to imagine a mind capable of suggesting that the UN,
the embodiment of international corruption and appeasement, and
Carter, a symbol of failed foreign policy and weakness, be allowed
anywhere near the country of Iraq.
Yet however bizarre her writing on what she calls the “Iraqi
misadventure,” Thomas is fairly representative of current liberal
thinking in this area. To them, all war is wrong, no matter what
the aim or outcome.
For a keener insight into liberal perplexity in matters of war
and military service, one needs only to read the words of future Commander in Chief Clinton, writing
in 1969 to excuse himself from a promise to join an ROTC program
for which he had no further use after he drew a high draft
number:
I am writing too in the hope that my telling this one
story will help you to understand more clearly how so many fine
people have come to find themselves still loving their country but
loathing the military, to which you and other good men have devoted
years, lifetimes, of the best service you could give. To many of
us, it is no longer clear what is service and what is disservice,
or if it is clear, the conclusion is likely to be
illegal.
On a personal note, I’d like to express my annual Thanksgiving;
to God and my grandparents for making me an American, and to the
U.S. military for securing that privilege.
Lisa
Fabrizio is a columnist who hails from Connecticut. You may
write her here.
