Pat Buchanan (2/21/02):
The U.S. cannot topple Iraq's dictator solely because we don't like him. If chemical and biological capabilities qualify as just cause, then we'd best draw up indictments against Libya and Syria. And if nuclear potential alone suffices, we'll be signing on to wars the world over that will only breed more of the same. Former Iraqi official Khidhir Hamza, who favors invasion, said as much in a FOX interview last week when asked about the nuclear program he worked on for Saddam. "We started in trying to give Iraq some kind of balance with Israel, some kind of parity, strategic parity with Israel, and we thought that eventually when peace talks start, we'll have a card to play in having better terms. That's all we thought about it," he said. "When it became a weapon to be used against the U.S. was during the Gulf War."
President Reagan breathed mission into his party by facing down the enemy that had set itself against us - not by wandering abroad “in search of monsters to destroy.” Similarly, President Bush distinguished himself when he rose to confront the terror that found us. Against that threat, his mandate remains. But he will not restore his party’s place through random war and tepid policy. Republicanism shines brightest when it’s focused without and principled within.
Ronald Reagan understood this. So too did the majorities that elected him. President Bush could yet prove his heir - or, like his hapless party, lose his head. |
