|
 t's
surprising, really, that nobody's noticed the brilliant bit of political
misdirection flowing almost daily from the Bush administration on
the subject of the Great War Against Terrorism. Indeed, it's so
magnificently conceived, and so well executed, that I hesitate to
point it out, because it might lose its effectiveness. But passion
for the truth simply grabs me by the throat — as the Achilles
once put it to the Tortoise — and makes me do it.
W.'s strategy
in the Great War is by now clear to anyone who cares to see: We're
going to attack terrorists and those who harbor or support them,
which means we're going after al Qaeda, Hamas, Hezbollah, the various
Islamic Jihads, and whatever new names these creeps invent for themselves.
We're not going to be gulled by Arafat. And, as soon as the guys
in uniform get their act together, we're going after Iran, Iraq,
Syria, and anyone else who doesn't shape up.
W. has said
that from the first minute, and he's said it whenever anyone asks.
His political/diplomatic
problem is that, as he might put it, various folks wander off the
ranch and start complaining. The Europeans complain that we're being
a bit too aggressive. The Arabs complain that we're not catering
to their tender sensitivities. The human-rights crowd complains
that we're being too mean to our prisoners. Defense lawyers complain
that we're not playing by San Francisco rules. If W. actually listened
to all these complaints, he wouldn't have time for anything else.
So what does
he do? He dumps it all on the poor secretary of state by ordering
Colin Powell to pretend that he's in favor of everything the complainers
say they want. You think we're too aggressive? Go talk to Colin,
he thinks so too. In fact, he doesn't want to kill anyone, he even
wants to extend the Great War Alliance to Iran and Syria. And he
certainly doesn't want to fight Iraq again, after his bad experience
ten years ago. You think we don't spend enough time holding the
hands of the moderate Arabs? Just call up Colin, he loves holding
hands with them, loves flying off to talk to them, loves discussing
the finer points of Islamic lore with them. You think we're being
too mean to the al Qaeda bunch in Cuba? So does Colin. Talk to him.
It's a marvelous
variation on the old "Good Cop, Bad Cop" routine, and
the latest improvement — the careful leak of a "document"
suggesting that the secretary of state doesn't think the Guantanamo
prisoners should be treated as "detainees" subject to
strict military standards, but perhaps "prisoners of war"
entitled to free cigarettes under the Geneva Convention written
in the middle of the last century, is a masterpiece.
That "document,"
said to be a communication from the chief White House counsel to
President Bush, reported that Secretary Powell felt that the prisoners
in Cuba should be considered "prisoners of war," and hence
should be protected by the Geneva Convention. By the time all the
players had been interrogated by our alert pack of journalists,
Powell had denied it, and the whole thing blamed on some loose-cannon
lawyer who apparently couldn't take a joke.
But look at
the political effect: Nobody could get exercised at the administration,
because the whole issue appeared to be under heated debate. And
in the meantime, serious interrogation of the prisoners moved ahead
quite nicely. True, Powell will take a few hits from hard-liners
who are always ready to believe the worst about him, but they are
certainly confused. This is a military man who is used to saluting
sharply and carrying out orders. He's heard the president more often
than we have, and so he can't be in any doubt about the mission.
Don't believe
all these stories that claim Powell is somehow a drag on the prosecution
of the Great War. Just nod knowingly, and give credit where it's
due: to the supremely cunning folks at the White House, and that
master actor in the state department.
What a performance
he's giving!
|
