Al Qaeda and Iraq, from a Reader in Palo Alto

(First published April 8, 2003)

I really enjoyed reading The Last Jeffersonian -- the book. What a breath of fresh air! The only thing I wish you would have tackled are the issue of the S & L meltdown and the Iran-Contra affair. I think it would have made your book stronger, as these two issues inevitably come up in any conversation I have with people trying to discredit Reagan. I would have liked to read what your thoughts are on that.

Now to the newsletter -- I have to say that I disagree with your assessment that A War in Iraq Is a Bad Idea. First of all, it's not that the generals are bored and lazily looking around to see where exactly it would be a good idea right now to have a war. Second, I think Rwanda, Afghanistan, Yugoslavia and certainly Somalia would have yielded a better standard to measure Iraq against, than Cuba or Libya.

You ask, "How will the war help us defeat Al Qaeda?" If you read Bin Laden's interviews and writings, you will find that Clinton's half-hearted and timid military interventions, and his fears to follow through on Iraq's expulsion of the inspectors, created the image of a paper tiger. That is what emboldened Al Qaeda to pull off the unimaginable attacks of 9/11.

Consistent with the reasoning in your book, Reagan's full-hearted and absolute sincerity, his unwavering positions on issues of what he considered right or wrong brought about the liberation of much of the world. Similarly, Bush's full-hearted, absolute sincerity and unwavering position will be required to follow through with Iraq. After all, the current showdown is simply a twelve year old condition of surrender after Iraq's aggressive action in Kuwait. The surrender includes conditions of disarmament that Iraq has agreed to but never fullfilled. So the question is not, "How will a war in Iraq help us defeat Al Qaeda?" but, "Will our wavering and backing down in Iraq help Al Qaeda to defeat us?"

I think that many of us, including President Bush, finally recognized on September 11 the fatal danger that we have put ourselves in by trying to please everybody, appeasing dictators and fanatics, and letting our guards down for so long.