[Vision2020] Military Times Editorial: For the Greater Good

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (November 10, 2006 "Daily News Round up" edition of the Army
Times -

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Military Times Editorial: For the greater good 

President Bush's decision to replace Donald Rumsfeld as secretary of defense
came like a clap of thunder on a hot, humid day: It broke the tension and
cleared the air. 

The nation now has an historic opportunity to turn the page and start anew.
The situation in Iraq will not change overnight, of course, but the
opportunity afforded by a new Congress, a new defense secretary and a
president newly committed to bipartisanship opens the way for new ideas, a
new strategy and new hope in an otherwise intractable situation.

Now comes the hard part: developing and executing a new, effective strategy
for Iraq. 

President Bush's choice of Robert Gates to succeed Rumsfeld is a hopeful
start. A nonpartisan leader with a solid track record over more than three
decades of government service, Gates has served presidents of both parties
and is already well-versed in Iraq policy. He spent the past six months
studying the war as a member of the Iraq Study Group, which is now
completing a report that will offer new strategy options for the U.S. in
Iraq. 
 
Job No. 1 for the new secretary is to ensure that his mind and ears are
open. 

Today's military - up and down the ranks - has more combat experience than
any generation since Vietnam. Gates will hear the truth about the wars in
Iraq and Afghanistan only if those who know the truth believe they can
express themselves without fear.

That said, he must listen with a skeptical ear for overly optimistic
assessments, especially when it comes to the quality of Iraqi security
forces. Although there are many brave Iraqis risking their lives to serve
their nation, corruption is common and discipline, equipment and experience
are in short supply. 

Job No. 2 is to figure out what is, in fact, achievable in Iraq. Setting
that objective will pave the way to shape a new strategy in a region in
which it often seems every stakeholder is working against success. 

Job No. 3 will be to reach out to his Cabinet-level peers and to the
Congress, to open an honest dialogue in which he lays out a vision both for
that strategy in Iraq and for long-term investment in the military that will
ensure a well-equipped, effective fighting force - for this war and the ones
that will inevitably follow. 

That means explaining in honest, direct and specific terms what is at stake
and why the U.S. cannot afford to waver in its resolve. 

But it will not be enough to listen, strategize and communicate. Success in
Iraq will not hinge on one man alone. 

The new Democrat-controlled Congress has the power to help make progress in
Iraq, or to distract the secretary and the nation with hearings and
investigations that rehash every fight of the past four years, to seek
scapegoats for decisions that brought us to war in the first place.
Likewise, members of the Republican minority must resist the urge to devolve
into petty partisanship in the wake of their losses. They must take the
president's lead and graciously reach out to the new majority. 

The way forward is not to get stuck rehashing the recent past. We need
instead clear national objectives stated by the president, a sound strategy
to achieve those objectives, and a properly funded budget to pay for and
execute that strategy. 

We need to determine whether more troops in Iraq can make a difference and
whether the Army and Marine Corps and their reserve components can provide
those additional forces. 

We need to consider how to give Iraq's neighbors a stake in U.S. success in
the region, so they are compelled to work alongside us and not against us. 

And we need to determine whether existing strategies to cut the size of the
Navy and Air Force make sense both now and in the future. 

There are more than 150,000 U.S. troops in Iraq today whose lives hang in
the balance. More than 2,800 have already given their lives to the cause,
and thousands more have paid in blood. 

There is much to do and little time to do it. Success in this case will be
defined by each party's ability to subsume individual interests for the
greater good.

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil
and steady dedication of a lifetime." 

--Adlai E. Stevenson, Jr.