Posted on: Wednesday, April 14, 2004
EDITORIAL
No room for doubts from determined Bush
President Bush's speech and follow-up news conference last night was a forceful and coherent explanation of how he believes he is handling the global war on terror.
What was missing was any indication that Bush feels his administration may need to change direction or tactics in this effort.
In fact, the president all but said that he would be willing to be judged for re-election on this basis alone: how he has done as the leader of this war.
Once again, he repeatedly stitched a link that is apparently clear in his mind, but less clear to us, between the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and the need to oust Saddam Hussein.
In defending the need to eliminate the danger posed by Saddam, Bush recounted the history of bloody attacks linked to al-Qaida, ranging from the bombing of embassies in Africa through the attack on the USS Cole and the bombing of a nightclub in Bali.
But where is the link?
The president explained that post-9/11, he concluded he could no longer wait until a threat was immediate, but he must act whenever and wherever he sees American or global security threatened.
That's dangerous ground to stand on.
Reporters pressed Bush — perhaps unfairly — to acknowledge that he might have made a mistake in judgment or action prior to 9/11. He wouldn't give an inch, acknowledging only that he shares the pain of those who are left behind, as do we all.
On Iraq, Bush conceded it has been a "tough" couple of weeks in Iraq, but he vowed he would stay the course, including handing over political power to Iraqis on June 30.
But which Iraqis? And how will they exert such power in a country increasingly plagued by violence and internal opposition?
The task ahead is to finish the job we started: to give Iraq, as Bush has often and articulately envisioned, a chance to become a beacon of freedom and democracy in the Middle East.
What was missing from our determined president was any detailed discussion of the fact that the job has become far more difficult and far more dangerous than it looked a short year ago.
