A little force and a little diplomacy go a long way Posted by: McQ
on Tuesday, September 21, 2004
One of the criticisms I hear about the Bush administration is they're failed diplomats. Most of that has to do with Iraq and the belief by some, mostly on the left, that diplomacy was the best way to pursue changes in Iraq, not force.
However, in light of Iraq, its hard to ignore some significant diplomatic changes in the middle east which even critics would be hard pressed to call something other than successful diplomacy.
Lybia's choice to stand down its nuclear program was a 'work in progress' on the diplomatic front prior to the invasion of Iraq, but the display of force proved to be a tipping point for that diplomatic effort as the good Colonel decided he really didn't want to go the way of Saddam and gave up his nukes.
Jordan and Pakistan have both come on board as partners in stabalizing the middle east and Afghanistand and Iraq in particular. Much of the training of Iraqi security forces is taking place in neighboring Jordan. Pakistan has cooperated in both police and military operations to root our al Queda and Taliban holdouts, a 180 degree change from pre Iraq days. Even Saudi Arabia is cooperating in the war on terror, although an argument can be made that much of their cooperation is in the realm of survival as much as diplomacy.
The latest success comes with one of the more hard-case countries in the area -- Syria:
A redeployment of Syrian forces in Lebanon should ease strains in U.S.-Syrian relations, which hit a low when President Bush signed into law the Syrian Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Act on Dec. 12. The act imposed economic sanctions on Syria for what the U.S. government deems to be support of terrorist organizations, and also called for the withdrawal of Syrian troops who have been in Lebanon since that country's 1975 civil war.
This is actually a significant diplomatic accomplishment. Syria is still a Baathist dictatorship and it has essentially occupied Lebanon for decades. Under Syrian protection, especially in the Bekka valley, terrorist organizations and training have flourished, especially those aimed at Israel. Syria's withdrawl will allow Lebanon to again claim sovereignty within its borders and it will most likely cause those terrorist organizations in Lebenon to seek different digs before the Israelis do them in.
Its not that there aren't any problems vis a vis Syria and Lebanon. For instance, Syria is withdrawing only after "convincing" the Lebanese parliment to extend the term of Lebanon's ruler, Emile Lahoud, for another half term. Lahoud is a staunch ally of Syria.
Diplomacy, however, is an art of give and take, and with that Syria agrees to redeploy its troops toward the Syrian border and to better monitor and guard the Syrian/Iraqi border. Obviously they'll still have toops in Lebanon, but not in the number or places where they had them previously ... and that's a good thing for Lebanon and the middle east.
Mr. Mustapha said that this move comes at a time when Syria is trying to cooperate with the United States. Despite the setbacks in diplomatic relations, Syria has continued to cooperate with the United States in the war against terrorism, according to high-ranking Syrian officials, who said their actions had "saved American lives."
Saving American lives is good. And it is being done diplomatically. Interesting.
When I was a substitute teacher, someone told me the secret to subbing in Junior High is to send someone to the office during first period, for no particular reason-- maybe they looked at you funny or something. Then word gets around the school that you're a hardass, and the students show you some respect. When I did that, I got respect. When I didn't do that, I got no respect, even if I showed the students all the respect and deference I was capable of.
It's first period. We sent Afghanistan and Iraq to the office.
When I was a substitute teacher, someone told me the secret to subbing in Junior High is to send someone to the office during first period, for no particular reason-- maybe they looked at you funny or something. Then word gets around the school that you`re a hardass, and the students show you some respect. When I did that, I got respect. When I didn`t do that, I got no respect, even if I showed the students all the respect and deference I was capable of.
It`s first period. We sent Afghanistan and Iraq to the office.
Great analogy. And the respect we`ve gotten came from Pakistan, Jordan, Lybia, Saudi Arabia and now Syria. Not bad.
One of the most hollow charges the Left makes abiout Bush is that he is a warmongering man - as if the GWOT consisted of only war and the threats of war.
The Left often uses the term, "war without end"; (this at first was a Left-wing term,then a MOOre term; now Kerry himself is using it).
This Syria development PROVES that the Bush Administration is adet at using ALL the national means at their disposal.
IN FACT, Bush used: war against the Taliban and Saddam; trilateral dip-lomacy with Libya; he's using multilateral diplomacy with North Korea, and a UN/EU based diplomatic appraach with Iran.
The way Bush has handled these crtical flashpoints proves that war is still a last resort.
And we know that Bush will NOT SHY AWAY FROM WAR, if and when it becomes necessary (even if it is not popular with the chattering classes) -- which further buttresses our diplomatic efforts.
When will the Left wake up and smell the REALITY!?
Your argument is very well stated McQ. Did you catch General Abizaid on Meet the Press? linked text
The man is impressive. He presented the best defense of Bush's Iraq policy I've heard and was far more concise and persuasive than Bush or Rumsfield. I still have my reservations about the neo-cons and I would be far happier if it didn't look like Rumsfield were micro-managing our military ala McNamara, for example on troop levels and the Faloujah fiasco.
I don't know what the truth is in Iraq through the fog of war, but I pray that your analysis and General Abizaid's is correct.
I do like what I'm hearing about the increase in and effective use of Special Forces. I'm just not sure how reliable our information really is.
