I am astonished at how many people let nothing but politics decide their stand in the War on Terror. It has been more than four years since September 11, and I have yet to meet somebody who was anti-war and not anti-Bush as well. A lot of those who opposed our intervention in Afghanistan and Iraq were veritable bloodhawks when the United States was involved in Bosnia and Kosovo; the biggest difference I can see between Kosovo and Iraq is who happened to be in the White House at the time. For that matter, I've also heard a few lamentations that the September 11 tragedy didn't happen while Bill Clinton was in charge, because then he would have a chance to leave a legacy for himself that didn't involve sex scandals.
It isn't mentioned out loud, but I think another reason for the antipathy to both the war and president Bush is because Bush doesn't follow the military practices that were so carefully worked out under the Johnson, Carter and Clinton administrations, and perfected in the Kosovo campaign. Here, from the May 1999 issue of The Limbaugh Letter, are those liberal rules of war:
Don't have a plan; go with the flow.
Don't, under any circumstances, call it a war. It's an air campaign; a conflict; asset depletion; degrading somebody's military capacity.
Don't allow any casualties.
Your motives must be pure. Don't do anything that might be in the national interest. Instead, bomb people for the highest liberal ideals: diversity, "celebrating our differences," and eradicating "hate."
Telegraph every strategic move in the media. If you're short on weapons, be sure to announce that, too.
Don't use the phrase "ground troops." Instead, call these people an "international security presence," "implementation force," or "peacekeeping force" who are only there to "support the air campaign."
Don't talk about any invasion. Explain that no one will be sent into a "hostile environment." Only a "permissive environment." Don't tell anyone what that means, however.
The President must pick the targets.
Don't trust anyone with actual war experience; in fact, don't allow anyone to serve in an advisory position who has ever been in combat.
