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To: Original Mad Dog who wrote (6162)	3/21/2003 10:58:30 AM
From: Original Mad Dog	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7689

LETTERS (letter to the editor in today's Wall Street Journal) Bush's Just Cause: A Democratic Iraq Regarding Albert R. Hunt's recent column, "A War That Will Bolster Bush" (Politics & People, March 20), President Bush's approval rating is likely to depend upon whether he is seen by the American public as standing upon a moral principle, rather than a swift and relatively painless victory in Iraq. The failure of President Bush's father to pursue Saddam Hussein after ejecting the Iraqi army from Kuwait in the first Gulf War contributed to the perception that that war was more about securing oil supplies than about installing democracy -- a perception that contributed heavily to the first President Bush's re-election defeat. * * * In contrast, George W. Bush has argued uncompromisingly for the removal of Saddam Hussein as a criminal dictator and a direct threat to the American people, scotching any serious perception that the war is directed to obtaining a stable oil supply, which the U.S. could receive from Iraq for the asking without the expense and controversy of an invasion. But to continue to receive public support, the president must convincingly demonstrate that the U.S. will foster a democratic government in a post-Saddam Iraq and not simply withdraw after defeating the regime. Indeed, if the Bush administration merely installs a new military dictatorship in Iraq or permits regional warlords to gain ascendancy in place of a national government, it will be seen by Americans as failing to live up to the idealism which the nation was told is at the root of this present conflict. Americans will support a president who pursues an ethical or political ideal, but not mere economic or political expedience. Democratic lawmakers who demand an "exit strategy" miss this essential point: that President Bush is and must be committed to a long-term institution-building process in Iraq in which the U.S. fosters not only democratic government, but the cultural and economic institutions that fuel democracy. As long as the U.S. is engaged in the just pursuit of building a democratic state in Iraq, President Bush will continue to have the support of the American public. * * * It would be a profound mistake for the nation (and for President Bush, who now has the overwhelming support of the American people) if the U.S. leaves Iraq quickly, to assuage lawmakers, before a stable democracy has taken root. Bruce Afran Princeton, New Jersey