Gates doesn’t get it—and neither does Powerline

Under the title, “Gates gets it,” Powerline reports that Robert Gates at his swearing in as Secretary of Defense this week stated: “[T]he next two years will determine whether Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations at a crossroads will pursue paths of gradual progress towards sustainable governments which are allies in the global war on terrorism or whether the forces of extremism and chaos will become ascendant.”

This is not only wrong, it’s insane. We have no power to make Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations undergo the kind of progress Gates envisions. It is mad to gamble our safety and freedom on the prospect that they will somehow become what we want them to become. We cannot change the Muslim world. What we can do is protect ourselves from the Muslim world, by taking away its ability to have any effect on us.

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Ben writes:

Well, one thing is now for certain, the nightmare continues under Gates. This whole idea we are now putting forth that says, “Hey, look Iraqis, this is your last chance for freedom and to have what we have, you’re at a crossroad, we’re giving you one last chance, do you hear us?” is the most absurd thing I have ever heard.

What happens if after two years they say drop dead America, what then? Why are we risking even more treasure and men’s lives on a maybe rather then a solid plan, and why are conservatives everywhere cheering about it? Answer: because to them anything is better than the Democrats’ plan or the ISG, so we must continue to stand behind Bush. The national nightmare continues….

Posted by Lawrence Auster at December 20, 2006 10:09 PM | Send