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thedrifter
08-18-05, 12:31 PM
Would cameras focus on grieving moms who back President Bush?
By HARRY REYNOLDS, Opinon Page editor Thursday, August 18, 2005 10:00 AM CDT

The anti-war protests outside President Bush's Crawford ranch won't help those serving in the military in Iraq.

A common assumption by our enemies is the United States doesn't have staying power.

What we perceive to be great victories in the first and second Gulf Wars does not impress terrorists and insurgents in either Iraq or Afghanistan.

Nor Iran, for that matter.

What happened in Somalia in the wake of the ambush in which a number of American soldiers died — followed by our quick exit from that country — sent a message to our enemies:

If we hang on long enough, kill enough soldiers, focus a lot of media attention on protesters, give full vent to every setback, and ignore every gain, the Americans will quit.

Unfortunately, they may be right. We've become a nation expecting war to be easy, quick and bloodless.

Beyond doubt, the perception greatly enhances the conviction on the part of our enemies — valid or not — that Americans will turn and run once the cameras focus.

Dangerous, that assumption; in its soil, the seeds of disaster grow. If we do not dispel terrorists, nations harboring terrorists, and totalitarian governments of their quite understandable mantra, we run grave risk of becoming ducks in the proverbial shooting gallery.

Bush's refusal to meet publicly with the woman who sparked the protests doesn't seem right, viewed from the perch of self-indignation, and fueled by self-righteousness.

Cindy Sheehan of Vacaville, Calif., showed up outside the Bush ranch on Aug. 6. Sheehan began her protest in memory of her 24-year-old son, Casey, killed in Iraq last year.

Monday night, the Secret Service agents and sheriff's deputies arrested an apparent protester of the protests. The man claimed he fired his gun in preparation for dove hunting.

Sheehan commented on the incident, saying, "I think we knew of the risks when we came down here. I'm surprised we haven't had more of that since we're in Bush country."

Which may have upset some Texans who live in Bush country and, more particularly, those who have loved ones serving in Iraq, or in graves.

A signature mark of many war protesters can be found in their singular arrogance; they brandish "peace" as the solution to any war.

More disquieting, barely concealed contempt for Bush and the place he calls home, openly displayed.

Contempt rises, as it often does, from such a self-indulgent belief, contempt bordering on condescension.

In 2004, the president met with grieving families, which included Sheehan's.

One wonders what would have happened in World War II had our view been shaped by around-the-clock TV coverage of mothers who felt compelled to demand that the United States call home its troops because their sons had been killed in combat.

The protests against Bush caught the media's attention in August, when Washington, D.C. is basically shut down.

Many presidents have taken vacations in August. In any case, presidents are entitled to relax sometimes. Even then, they are on call 24-hours a day; they shoulder the burdens of the nation wherever they go.

We elect them to lead. If the president does something a constituent likes, he is right. If, on the other hand, the president does something a constituent does not like, he is wrong.

We insist our presidents make decisions based on what what we, as individuals, believe to be in the best interest of the nation.

All 290 million-plus Americans cannot run the country. It would be sheer chaos; anarchy would reign.

Bush and I don't agree on much, but there is one characteristic of this president that demands respect.

The man does not run the country by the polls. He does what he was elected to do — lead.

He is bound to make mistakes, sometimes; no president has completed his tenure with a perfect score.

Bush has plenty of faults, and I'll be glad to see a Democratic president in office after he leaves.

But, the Democrats have to start staking out strong positions on domestic and foreign policy. That's what beat John Kerry: no fresh ideas.

The Bush Administration made a lot of mistakes in Iraq, starting with a lack of a coherent plan for dealing with that country after the war.

Approximately 1,800 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq, thousands others wounded.

Still, when compared to many of the wars in which America has been engaged — some for far less compelling reasons than Iraq — the toll is rather low.

While one feels compassion for Sheehan, her son volunteered. He was not drafted. He didn't complain.

Few soldiers who died protested the war before death laid its claim. And few among the wounded have declared their mission wrong.

History will be the final judge. If Iraq evolves into a democracy, however flawed, it will help stabilize an area that poses a danger to the world.

If Bush is to meet again with Sheehan, he should also meet all the other mothers who have lost sons and daughters to the war.

But, would it be accorded the same intense media coverage Sheehan has received?

Not likely.

Harry Reynolds is opinions page editor of the Journal Gazette and Times-Courier. Contact Reynolds at hreynolds@jg-tc.com

Ellie.

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