General Dismay

Can there ever have been a time in our history when so many recently retired generals, some of whom had a role in the events they now deplore, have spoken out publicly against a policy? Wesley Clarke was accused of disloyalty when he spoke out against the Iraq War in his run for president, but he had not been on active duty when the Iraq invasion began.

Is it mere stubbornness that keeps the president continuing his litany of support for Rumsfeld?

Then there is the very discomforting thought that these generals may have thought the Iraq invasion was a bad idea from the outset, but concerns for their careers and misplaced sense of loyalty kept them quiet or worse, complicit.

Is it a pipe dream to think that we can ever again be bound by the constitutional requirement that Congress declare war and vote funds before a president can commit troops? The reason given for this in recent congresional votes of such vague latitude that presidents since Korea have been able to wage war without an appropriate declaration is that events move so rapidly today that a congressional debate is too slow and cumbersome a response.

But is it?

Would President Bush have had any less success in receiving a declaration of war against Al Quaida on September 12, 2001 than Franklin Roosevelt did on December 4, 1941? Of course a terrorist group without a national identity is a lot trickier than a nation that has just attacked us.

But that may be just the point. Bush asked for an open ended declaration which he has since interpreted to mean that he can take whatever measure he sees fit against whomever he deems a threat. No president should be able to exercise such unfocused hostile fire power with the might avaliable to him. Any sensible leader would not want that sort of power without specific agreement from those elected by the people.

Would Rumsfeld's removal move us in a positive direction? Insofar as he continues to send American troops into a mayhem with no plan for either success or withdrawal, yes. But not, it seems to me, as an antidote to the exercise of raw power that has turned our nation into the scourge of the world and squandered our role as a guardian of world peace.