DUBYA DEFINES THE WAR
NEW YORK POST
Editorial
October 7, 2005
President Bush's War on Terror speech yesterday may have sounded like old news, but in key ways, he pushed the envelope. And — with New York going on high alert over a subway bomb threat — he couldn't have picked a better time to do it.
There's no question that support for the war (not to mention for Bush himself) has fallen, particularly since summer. Reportedly, yesterday's address was originally slated for summer, but delayed because of the Gulf Coast storms.
Now Iraq is to vote on a constitution — just a week from tomorrow. The terrorists there are sure to step up the violence. And the number of U.S. casualties in Iraq is nearing a symbolic 2,000. Even some U.S. military leaders and formerly supportive elected officials have expressed concern about the war's course.
So Bush's words were a timely and needed reiteration of the war's purpose, and America's resolve:
"We will not tire, or rest, until the War on Terror is won."
One of the most commendable things about this president is his unflappability, even when faced with enormous political heat. Three cheers for that.
There was more: He subtly began to lay the groundwork for the next phase in the War on Terror. As John Podhoretz notes on the preceding page, the president re-named the enemy: It isn't merely terrorism that the world must fight, but "Islamic radicalism," "militant Jihadism" and "Islamo-fascism" — and their self-appointed practitioners.
The war's link to Iraq? The terrorists, he said, regard Iraq as "the central front in their war against humanity" and Americans "must recognize Iraq as the central front in our War on Terror."
Their strategy: To take control of a country and "rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region, and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia."
"With greater economic and military and political power, the terrorists would be able to advance their stated agenda: to develop weapons of mass destruction, to destroy Israel, to intimidate Europe, to assault the American people and to blackmail our government into isolation." Scary stuff, indeed.
Which is why U.S. troops can't just quit Iraq. "There's always a temptation, in . . . a long struggle, to seek the quiet life," Bush said. "But it's not the world we live in . . . The enemy considers every retreat . . . an invitation to greater violence."
Prepare, in other words, for "more sacrifice, more time and more resolve."
Bush also issued new warnings to Syria, Iran and other "enablers" of terror.
As he did after 9/11, Bush said the United States would
not distinguish "between those who commit acts of terror
and those who support and harbor them . . . Any
government that chooses to be an ally of terror has also
chosen to be an enemy of civilization. And the civilized
world must hold those regimes to account."
No, that doesn't mean to expect daisy-cutters over Tehran next week. But Bush did offer support to rebels in those nations:
"We're standing with dissidents . . . against oppressive
regimes, because we know that the dissidents of today
will be the democratic leaders of tomorrow."
This war's course, as Bush noted, is far from clear. But there's certainly no question that America cannot simply give up.
Fortunately, Bush understands that.
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