Holding The Line

William F. Buckley, who is far from a raging liberal (or even a normal liberal) takes the Bush administration to task for holding to their June 30, 2004 date to hand over the reins of power to the Iraqi Governing Council.

"What does appear to be stupid, given our determination to see the venture through, is to stress our commitment to turn over authority to the Iraqi Governing Council on June 30. That is 11 weeks away. The notion that we can stick to that deadline at a moment when three cities in Iraq are in enemy hands, and when a Shiite clerical leader preaching the holy cause of dead Americans is snugly holed up in a mosque surrounded by death-to-the-end bodyguards, defies reason."

I have to say, I've had some of the same questions. But delaying the date to transfer power is problematic as well. It puts the stamp on the failure of the Bush administration to bring peace to the country. It would be an admission on their part that they have failed to plan adequately; and this administration is incapable of admitting mistakes.

Still, I wish they would in this case. Turning "limited sovereignty" to borrow a phrase from Colin Powell at a time when the new government will clearly be reliant on the American military to maintain it's position cannot help but undermine the legitimacy of the new government. Nobody on this side of the world will be calling the new Iraqi Governing Council our puppets; everybody on that side will. We will be committing ourselves to propping the new government up, financially and militarily, which will tie up our armies for quite a long time. Or else we will watch the government we set up fall apart almost immediately as forces who have defined themselves as Anti-American will come in.

Some of you may wonder how an Iraqi could feel negatively towards the United States after we liberated them from Saddam Hussein. Mr. Buckley comments on that as well. "Some are saying in Iraq that life was better even under Saddam Hussein. That should not surprise. The same point could have been made, at certain moments in history, about life under Hitler or Stalin. Many who are suffering at this point in the war did not suffer under Saddam Hussein, and enjoyed such fruits of stability as a tyrant can induce. Anarchy is never, ever preferred over government, however hideous."

Anyway, we'll see what happens in between now and June 30th. It is a bit sad to consider that, potentially, the key factor in determining the future of Iraq is not in the hands of the Iraqi people but in the electoral necessities of the United States.