The American Spectator

Recently I have spent some time reading various articles that your organization posts on your website. The more I read, the more I am shocked by the hypocrisy and flagrant distortions of facts that your organization exhibits. It is truly sad.

In regards to Mr. Klein’s article on 1/12 and his comment “…what he rightly considers ‘the decisive ideological struggle of our time,…”

If President Bush really felt that way he would have the courage to ask Americans to sacrifice for this struggle. Failure to do that can only lead one to believe that it is not as great a struggle as it is portrayed at.

In regards to your organization it is somewhat shocking to read how you continue to support this “venture” led by President Bush. To be very frank, if our President was an executive in any business in the world he would have been fired a long time ago for failure to properly implement strategies.

Mr. Bush is no different than many other corporate executives who can dream of strategies and not be able to implement.

p>Your organization would get more respect if at least once in a while you faced up to the reality of the situation. br> — Robert S. Volland /p>

It is apparent now that from the very beginning that there were several strategic as well as political flaws in the President’s War on Terror. Many of these problems he inherited, while others were of his own making. Even the spectacular victory against the Taliban in Afghanistan is a bit hollow as we fail to use the strategic geographical gains against Iran that we earned in that campaign. After all, we were led to believe that all roads led to Tehran. The President’s famous Axis of Evil speech put special emphasis on both Baghdad and Tehran. But it was the Iranians who possessed the will, the money, and technology to build nuclear weapons. Iran is calling the shots in Lebanon and Gaza, not to mention in various safe houses in Europe and North America. Little did we know that the President’s bluster in late 2001 was just rhetorical. He had no intentions of fighting a long-term combat operation with the overthrow of the Mullahs in Tehran as the ultimate goal.

Neither Secretary Powell nor Rice ever considered a complete reordering of Arabic fiefdoms. For that matter, neither did DCI Tenet, or Secretary Rumsfeld. Congress as usual was clueless, and as 2002 became 2003 the President’s resolve wavered. The mission changed from defeating the Axis of Evil to liberating Iraq. Iraq for some reason became the ultimate goal. Much diplomatic and political capital was wasted in the President’s capitulation in October of 2002. The invasion would wait until the UN gave its imprimatur. In the mean time, the Shia and Baathists prepared for a long insurgency. The Pentagon had neither the will nor the skill to fight the terrorists. Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia continually supply logistics, foreign fighters, and money to keep this horror machine going. Neither the President nor Congress ever considered leveling places like Sadr City, Ramadi or Fallujah; not once did we ever consider tactical air strikes deep into Iran or Syria. Iran continues to build nuclear weapons, yet our Navy allows them to export oil — their main source of revenue. Neither Syria nor Iran ever complained to the UN about incursions of special ops soldiers against their bases and logistic centers; nor do they complain about American backed liberation movements. Iraq not Iran became the end game. And the endgame had nothing to do with victory in the field. It was as if Eisenhower decided in 1944 that Paris and not Berlin was the ultimate goal.

p>The question that begs to be asked: Is this the best that we can do? Is this the best that our Ivy League graduates can come up with? Despite advanced degrees and War College training, is this the best that our senior officers can do? Are we so lacking in diplomatic and strategic skill, not to mention imagination and will that we are allowing a group of mullahs run us out of town? It appears so. br> — JP br> Indiana