Jim Austin

His previous columns are archived HERE.

JIM AUSTIN

War Notes: if it's broke, fix it

This "war" is a conflict in more ways than one. There are so many angles to consider. Gone are the days when armies just march in, blowup the infrastructure, kill everyone in sight, and go home.

The Bush administration is treading fairly lightly as this war progresses. Has a nation ever dropped food and bombs at the same time on the same people?

The media says, "Taliban forces and Al Qaida routed." First of all the media doesn't know squat except what they are fed by the military. And please, how does the military know if the forces they drop bombs on are Taliban, El Qaida, or a senior citizen walkathon?

The military's umbrage at the "lying" perpetrated by the Taliban regarding civilian body counts would have made me laugh if it weren't so pathetic. Back in the 70s General Westmoreland lied like a dog to the media and the American people about casualties during the Vietnam war. Now we issue surprise that a band of unwashed fanatics would "lie"? Gimme a break.

I don't envy the spin-doctors these days. Powell and Rumsfeld are keeping several balls in the air at the same time. Don't offend the Saudis or the Egyptians, ignore the riots in Pakistan, tighten the leash on Sharon, make nice with Iran and Uzbekistan, all the while dropping lunch and bunker-busters on Kabul.

The folks at home are conflicted, too. Nobody wants to appear disloyal and criticize the government in these perilous times. However, somebody said that if you ignore the workings of your government, you get the government that you deserve.

To date, Bush's public pronouncements have been an embarrassment. I swear he gets his material from his own private Baptist minister. His constant references to "evil" and the "evildoers" are stagnant and a bit insulting to the public. We want facts, not puffery.

The media has been guilty of whipping up fear and anxiety regarding the anthrax scare. No doubt this is because some contaminated mail has been aimed at them. Since their ox is being gored, we should all hold a national freak out, I guess.

Congress didn't help by fleeing like rabbits when they got a scare. "Citizens" they screamed while diving into their limos and donning HAZMAT suits, "just carry on as usual, don't let terror win…" How the terrorists must be chuckling at our national over reaction.

It's interesting that six Muslim nations are planning a campaign to clean up Islam's image. The countries of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and the UAR plan to launch a media blitz aimed at the West that shows what cuddly guys they are. I don't think the Saudis will mention the state-sponsored schools for young militants that they run for their youth.

While we are listening to the peaceful philosophies of Islam brought to you by those friendly folks who sell us oil, they use those oil revenues to fund schools that preach hatred of the U.S. These Islamic schools in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia preach the Koran before lunch and anti-American propaganda 101 afterwards. Our foreign policy is an incredible mess. Our cold war vigilance has been replaced by arrogance and stupidity. The Bush administration is not entirely to blame. His run of bullying global policies before Sept. 11 was a natural outgrowth of our self-satisfied complacency since the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Well, now we have another foe to help us keep our edge. Maybe now we'll start using diplomacy and vision instead of staggering around the globe like a blind bull. The fact that we didn't see this coming is indefensible. Now let's get to work and fix it.