Monthly Archives: July 2003

Yet another failure in Iraq

Rocket Man, it seems clear to me that we should have captured the Hussein brothers alive, wearing “re-elect Bush” buttons, and singing our national anthem as they surrendered. »

Speaking of Uday and Qusay…

…the Administration has released photos of their bodies to satisfy any doubts about their demise. I am not linking to the photos since they are all over the internet for those who want to see them. The are not especially grisly but the brothers do look very dead. As to whether they are recognizable, I can’t vouch for it; in fact, it’s hard to see much behind their beards. But »

“Better Alive Than Dead”

That’s the title of an op-ed in today’s New York Times by Sandra Mackey, the author of several books on the Middle East. Ms. Mackey criticizes U.S. forces for failing to take Uday and Qusay Hussein alive: “The killing of Saddam Hussein’s sons, Uday and Qusay, is a tactical victory for the American occupation of Iraq. But it is not a strategic one. By not capturing these odious symbols of »

Republicans Back on Defensive

Notwithstanding the efforts of some Republican Congressmen to strike back at the Democrats over their attacks on the President, the Republicans find themselves on the defensive again after a 24-hour respite to celebrate the demise of Uday and Qusay. There is no new news on the Niger uranium flap, so the story has reached the “story about the story” phase, as the Washington Post publishes one article dissecting the Administration’s »

Republican Congressmen Strike Back

Republican Congressmen are beginning to suggest that Democrats’ second-guessing of President Bush’s Iraq policy is hurting troop morale overseas. It’s a fair enough point, I think, and one that’s likely to be effective, given that recent polls indicate that a substantial majority of Americans think the Democrats’ criticisms are made for political reasons. The Democrats will be especially uncomfotable about the observation of an Arizona Republican that a recent Saddam »

Cubans on Truck Turned Back

Twelve Cuban would-be immigrants fashioned a 1951 Chevy pickup–Cuba is the last place in the world where they still drive those–into a boat. Here it is: The Cubans navigated their pickup/boat to within 40 miles of the U.S., when they were intercepted by the Coast Guard and returned to Cuba. I’ll leave the details of immigration policy to Michelle Malkin, but I don’t understand why anyone who is this ingenious, »

Arnold to Pass on Recall Election?

The latest rumor, relayed by Hugh Hewitt on his show tonight, is that Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to stay out of California’s recall election to take place this fall. I’m not competent to judge whether this is a politically smart move or not. The general rule in politics is, any time there is an opportunity, take it–it may not come again. Maybe Arnold is concerned that the Democrats will unite »

The thunder next time

Tony Blankley, though not wavering in his support of President Bush, warns him to “guard his right flank.” Blankley provides a characteristically thoughtful and balanced look at the Bush presidency from a conservative perspective. I agree with Blankley that Bush will hold his conservative base as long as he does not compromise on the war front. The Clinton years are still too fresh for conservatives to prefer “being right to »

They’re Dead. Really.

Donald Rumsfeld announced tonight that photographs of Uday and Qusay Hussein will be released to convince Iraqis that they really are dead. I’m not sure whether this illustrates the deep weirdness of Arab culture, or it’s just an indication of how traumatized the Iraqis have been by the demented Hussein family. Hopefully the latter. »

Big government by any other name

Here is Jonah Goldberg’s take (courtesy of Real Clear Politics) on the question I asked yesterday — is the Bush administration conservative. Goldberg’s answer is that, yes, the administration is conservative, but in a new kind of way. Goldberg classifies the administration as “big-govenment conservative,” which, he says, “used to be an oxymoron [but] now means ‘compassionate conservative.'” I’m afraid I don’t buy this. Presidents are powerful people, but they »

Prescription for a domestic quagmire

While the Democrats and the liberal media are still trying to portray Iraq as a quagmire, the real quagmire is being concocted right here in Washington, D.C. in the form of the presciption drug bill that is making its way through Congress. Bruce Bartlett, for National Review Online predicts that the Republican (and Ted Kennedy) backed plan will likely cost trillions of dollars; cause drug prices to rise to the »

More on Edward Teller

For those who wish to learn more about Presidential Medal of Freedom winner Edward Teller here is John J. Miller’s profile of the nuclear scientist the left loves to hate. Courtesy of National Review Online. »

A liberal Republican gets a plum

Connie Morella, until this January my representative in the House, has been appointed by President Bush to be Ambassador to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, the Washington Post reports. Morella represented my district, in the Maryland suburbs of Washington D.C., for sixteen years, until the Democrats re-districted her into forced retirement. She was probably the most liberal Republican in the House for most of that time, »

Presidential Medals of Freedom Awarded

President Bush awarded Presidential Medals of Freedom to a wonderful group of recipients today: Julia Child, Dave Thomas, Van Cliburn, Jacques Barzun, Charlton Heston, Vaclav Havel, Edward Teller, James Q. Wilson, Byron White, John Wooden and Roberto Clemente (posthumously, obviously). While they are a varied group, there is a definite conservative presence, with Heston, Teller, Wilson and to some degree Barzun and Havel. Although not well-remembered today by the general »

The Bush candor gamble

Reader Duane Oyen offers these thoughts about the Bush team’s response to the controversy over African uranium, and the likely outcome of that controversy: “1) “Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it”- Yes, the Bush staff response to the silly questions has been almost amateurish when compared with the well-coordinated Dem-BigMedia assaults. What it brings to mind is the previous example of exactly how not to »

Ralph Peters on Saddam’s Fall

Ralph Peters brings a grand, Biblical perspective to the deaths of Uday and Qusay Hussein: “The deaths of Saddam’s sons is a more important step in the liberation of Iraq than the fall of Baghdad. Their deaths destroyed the dynasty at the heart of Saddam’s dreams and Iraqi fears. For the long-suffering people of Iraq, the deaths of Uday and Qusay matter more, on a practical level, than even Saddam’s »

President Bush’s Speech on Iraq

Earlier today President Bush delivered a very good speech on the occasion of Ambassador Bremer’s return to Washington to brief him on progress in Iraq, as well as the apprehension of Uday and Qusay Hussein. The full text is here. President Bush summarized again the benefits of the successful war, and it is good to see that he did not back off any of the rationales that were offered before »