A New Year Dawns
Red Rock. One of the most beautiful places I\’ve ever seen, though this picture doesn\’t do it justice. However, if you look closely you can see the red marbling of the mountain. Last week I had another encounter with a gorgeous hawk. These winged creatures have landed on our property too, even as close as our back window. When driving through Red Rock Canyon you also can\’t help but ponder the possibilities, especially this time of year.
On this New Years Eve, Richard
Clarke once again gives us something important and chilling to think about.
In every administration, there are usually only about a dozen barons who
can really initiate and manage meaningful changes in national security policy.
For most of 2006, some of these critical slots in the Bush administration
have been vacant, such as the deputy secretary of state (empty since Robert
B. Zoellick left for investment bank Goldman Sachs) and the deputy director
of national intelligence (with Gen. Michael V. Hayden now CIA director). And
with the nation involved in a messy war spiraling toward a bad conclusion,
the key deputies and Cabinet members and advisers are all focusing on one
issue, at the expense of all others: Iraq.(snip)
In the end, there are only 12 seats at the conference table in the White
House Situation Room, and the key players\’ schedules mean that they can seldom
meet there together in person or on secure video conference for more than
about 10 hours each week. When issues don\’t receive first-tier consideration,
they can slip by for months. I learned this firsthand: In the early days of
the Bush administration, I called for an urgent meeting to discuss the threat
al-Qaeda posed to the United States. The Cabinet-level meeting eventually
took place — but not until Sept. 4, 2001.Without the distraction of the Iraq war, the administration would have spent
this past year — indeed, every year since Sept. 11, 2001 — focused on al-Qaeda.
But beyond al-Qaeda and the broader struggle for peaceful coexistence with
(and within) Islam, seven key \”fires in the in-box\” national security
issues remain unattended, deteriorating and threatening, all while Washington\’s
grown-up 7-year-olds play herd ball with Iraq. …
Clarke\’s \”seven key \’fires in the in-box\’ national security issues\”
start with global
warming, then takes off to Russia, Latin America, Africa, arms control,
\”transnational crimes\” like the narco-state percolating in Afghanistan,
with Clarke\’s list ending on the one inferno that bothers me the most: the Pakistani-Afghan
border.
So much has been left undone and unattended because of Iraq. Because Mr. Bush
doesn\’t have the vision to see what\’s happening while he figures out his legacy.
If we turn inward, the list gets longer.
Enter the new Democratic Congress.
The excitement I feel for the new leaders in the Congress is growing. People
like James Webb, John Tester, as well as someone I\’ve had the pleasure to speak
with personally and look forward to meeting on my next trip to Washington, Joe
Sestak. He called me before Christmas and we had a long talk. These new, bright
Democrats, including some serious veterans with deep foreign policy experience,
coupled with the populists, offer great hope for 2007.
Only one thing can hold us back. Iraq.
We simply cannot let that happen. We will not. Our troops need to know that
a New Year is dawning and with it new leadership. Business as usual is over.
Get ready to rock \’n roll, baby.
Mr. Bush better hold on tight. The resistance is coming.
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