Tag: Uncategorized

Very well-written column by George Will that touches on the actions at Abu Ghraib, the lead-up to the war, and Donald Rumsfeld’s role as secretary of defense. This paragraph in particular describes the entire problem of the war on terror:

The first axiom is: When there is no penalty for failure, failures proliferate. Leave aside the question of who or what failed before Sept. 11, 2001. But who lost his or her job because the president’s 2003 State of the Union address gave currency to a fraud — the story of Iraq’s attempting to buy uranium in Niger? Or because the primary and only sufficient reason for waging preemptive war — weapons of mass destruction — was largely spurious? Or because postwar planning, from failure to anticipate the initial looting to today’s insufficient force levels, has been botched? Failures are multiplying because of choices for which no one seems accountable.

The logical conclusion of Will’s argument is that President Bush should hold Rumsfeld accountable. Thus far, he has failed to do so.

From the article: America needs people who have “the moral clarity and courage to do what’s right, regardless of consequence, fashion or fad,” Karl Rove said.

What he said is quite true. It would have been more honest for him to say that the U.S. government needs people with moral clarity and courage. The irony of Karl Rove being the one to say this is readily apparent to anyone who follows the news. In his capacity as Bush’s chief political strategist, he has advocated incredibly dishonest treatment of his boss’ opponents, Republican or Democrat. The way Bush campaigned against John McCain was any thing but morally clear and courageous. His current campaign for re-election is no different. Distortions and outright lies about the stands of his opponent and an inability to admit mistakes are anything but morally clear and courageous.

America certainly does need people with moral clarity and courage to do what’s right. But finding such people in our government seems like finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. The best we can hope to do as individuals is to develop these traits ourselves.