On the Right

WHEN he took the oath as secretary of defense, Robert Gates was weighed down by factors he couldn’t ignore, and couldn’t alter. We are continuing to search for just the word that describes the U.S. mission in Iraq. But you can’t do it, given American sensibilities, in the presence of the doommaker, and President Bush was the dominant figure at the ceremony.

Robert Gates minced no words on the matter of the responsibility we have in Iraq. He acknowledged the final objective, which is “to find a way to bring America’s sons and daughters home again.” But that will happen the day after tomorrow. What happens tomorrow is a continuation of the struggle, because “failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and endanger Americans for decades to come.”

WHEN he took the oath as secretary of defense, Robert Gates was weighed down by factors he couldn’t ignore, and couldn’t alter. We are continuing to search for just the word that describes the U.S. mission in Iraq. But you can’t do it, given American sensibilities, in the presence of the doommaker, and President Bush was the dominant figure at the ceremony.

Robert Gates minced no words on the matter of the responsibility we have in Iraq. He acknowledged the final objective, which is “to find a way to bring America’s sons and daughters home again.” But that will happen the day after tomorrow. What happens tomorrow is a continuation of the struggle, because “failure in Iraq at this juncture would be a calamity that would haunt our nation, impair our credibility, and endanger Americans for decades to come.”