Supreme Command

Editorial

President Bush read Supreme Command, Soldiers, Statesmen, and Leadership in Wartime by Eliot A. Cohen as partial preparation for a possible war on Iraq. He could hardly have done better. Lincoln, Clemenceau, Churchill and Ben-Gurion are the main examples, each a genius in the conduct of war. Lincoln and Churchill were outstanding, the two greatest war leaders in the history of the English speaking world. There are other values to the book: descriptions of the failures of the war in Vietnam and the confusion in the Gulf War.

The book suggests two essentials for the conduct of a war: 1) civilians must be in charge, and 2) attention must be given to the smallest details, which will fluctuate. The greatest leader will adjust to changing circumstances without losing focus on the goal. It was said of Churchill even as a young man that he had "genius and plod." Not only did he master the intricacies of military campaigns, to the point of over-riding his generals on occasion, but he also had a clear vision of the goals and kept going ahead.

The goal in the possible war on Iraq is two-fold: 1) to destroy the weapons of mass destruction that Iraq has, and 2) to convert Iraq from an oppressive dictatorship into a responsible republic, or what we call a democracy.

Several possible assumptions are made. 1) Because Saddam Hussein is a brutal dictator, it is possible that, in a war to remove him, the people will rise up to welcome an invading army. This may or may not be true. When Iran tried to convert the Shiites to the Iranian cause because they were of the same ideology, they chose to defend Iraq, their native country. 2) Surrounding countries will be glad to have Saddam Hussein removed because he is a threat to them. Once again, this may or may not be true. Iraq is an Arab country and other Arab countries may choose to be loyal to that tradition rather than join the cause of what they consider the Christian tradition. 3) His palace guard, the centerpiece of his army, will assassinate him. This may or may not be true. If our pleasant assumptions are not correct, and are based on hope only, we shall have a difficult time accomplishing our mission.

There is no question that Hussein has biological weapons that are capable of mass killings. He has scientists with expertise to produce the most awful biological weapons. He has used them against his own people. We may assume that if he is attacked he will use them against the United States and its allies. He did not use them in the Gulf War when it would have been relatively easy to do so, but he will probably use them if his country is attacked. We may also assume that he will not permit inspectors to enter his palaces where his biological work is done. To allow thorough inspection would deny him the possibility of defense.

The second goal of the war is to establish a rule in the country where the voice of the people is freely expressed and the goal of politics is peace. The establishment of such a society is more difficult than its statement. A new infrastructure has to be in place and leaders will have to be found who are able and civilized. This could take several years. The United States would occupy the country until a government is in place that is harmonious with our principles. Iraq would be ruled by a beneficent dictatorship controlled by the U.S. rather than by Saddam Hussein. The advantage to the Iraqis is that we would allow the free sale of oil. Under these circumstances, the country would have riches and growth. Perhaps the people would be converted to the new order for the sake of increased wealth.

The history of Iraq, the achievements of its people, its high civilization of the past, and its extensive natural resources all point to the possibility of a possible transformation once Hussein's yoke is lifted. In the process a model can emerge that other Arab societies may look to and emulate for their own transformation and that of the entire region. The challenge of Iraq offers an opportunity for an historical turning point that can lead us in the direction of a more peaceful, free, and prosperous future.

-George Schultz, Hoover Digest, 2002, No. 4, p. 128.

Why should we declare war on Iraq? The most important reason is that he has been accumulating biological weapons of mass destruction. He has not used them on his neighbors but his accumulation of them is a danger to the world. After Desert Storm, inspectors found installations with uranium-enriched weapons and hundreds of missile warheads armed with poison gas. In 1995 Saddam Hussein's son-in-law defected and revealed that

Hussein was making biological weapons at a center where inspectors had found nothing. The center, which had produced 30,000 liters of biological agents, including anthrax and botulinum toxins was destroyed, but the inadequacy of inspections in Iraq was demonstrated.

-Ibid, p. 125

The importance of Hussein having biological weapons is that they are the most sophisticated and deadly weapons known to man. We used to think, and some still think, that nuclear power is the most deadly power ever known to man. Nuclear power is incredibly powerful, as shown in the attacks on Japan that brought World War II to a conclusion. But nuclear power kills and destroys in an instant. Biological weapons do not affect buildings but attack the living. People do not know they are attacked until they are on the way to death, and they spread the poison innocently. The disease spreads indefinitely.

Ken Alibek used to be Dr. Kanatjan Alibekov, deputy chief of research and production for the Soviet biological weapons program, with thirty-two thousand scientists and staff working for him. He and his staff developed the Soviet Union's most powerful weapons-grade anthrax. This anthrax became fully operational in 1989, meaning that it could be loaded into bombs and missiles.

The Alibekov anthrax is an amber-gray powder, finer than bath talc, with smooth, creamy, fluffy particles that tend to fly apart and vanish in the air, becoming invisible and drifting for miles. The particles have a tendency to stick in human lungs like glue. Alibekov anthrax can be manufactured by the ton, and it is believed to be extremely potent.

-Richard Preston, The Demon in the Freezer, p. 186.

In discussion with a friend, he used a jar of simulated anthrax, shook that bottle so that it turned into a cloud of smoke. He straightened his arm and heaved the contents of the jar into the air. The contents boiled out, making a small mushroom cloud, blasted through the branches of a tree and took off at a fast clip toward a town twenty miles distant. The cloud started to become transparent and then vanished. "If I wanted to destroy that town," he said, "I would mix anthrax with smallpox. The citizens of the neighboring town would die."

Death by biological weapons is more deadly than nuclear power, and the science is known that can produce poisons that are immune to vaccines. The conclusion of President Bush is that the world cannot afford to have Saddam Hussein in possession of such weapons. The assumption is that, if he does not have such weapons now, he has the skill to make them. Some of his scientists are highly skilled.

Whether Osama bin Laden is alive or dead does not matter. His disciples are carrying on his work. The Taliban leaders have called for the "extinction of America," by which they mean Western civilization, and they will lay their hands on biological weapons as soon as they can. The Muslim world as interpreted by Islamic fanatics is one that has refused secular learning in the name of religious dogma. Western civilization has had and still has more than enough of religious dogma, which dogs us as well as Islam, but we have also the learning of Rome and Greece, and a long history of science that pursues truth. We have exchanged religious dogma for empirical science and have produced the modern world of learning and goodness. We have compelled our religions to good behavior, and they have blessed us when dogma is of less importance than goodness.

Turkey is the only successful Islamic state because it has become secular. Because of its secularism, Turkey has been condemned by bin Laden as having betrayed Islam. On the contrary, Islam has been betrayed by the wicked behavior of its followers who elevate dogma over decency. Our work is to persuade other Muslim states to follow the example of Turkey. This will not be a rejection of their faith but a reformation in the name of decency. The West had a reformation against dogma, and so must they. We have a public relations problem. We need many who can read, write, and speak Arabic to speak to the world of Islam. They are as ignorant of us as we are of them.

If bin Laden can persuade the world of Islam to accept his views and his leadership, then a long and bitter struggle lies ahead, and not only for America. Sooner or later, al Qaeda and related groups will clash with the other neighbors of Islam-Russia, China, India-who may prove less squeamish than the Americans in using their power against Muslims and their sanctities. If bin Laden is correct in his calculations and succeeds in his war, then a dark future awaits the world, especially the part of it that embraces Islam.

-Jeffrey Hart, Hoover Digest, p. 132.

There may be an unspoken goal in the push to war against Iraq-the neutralization of Saudi Arabia. That country lives by supplying us with oil, and we cannot live without that oil. Saudi Arabia also leads the world in war against us. The neutralization of Saudi Arabia by converting Iraq into a civilized community and allowing it a free flow of oil would be a considerable defeat of militant Islam. Iraq never has been a part of radical Islam. ?

We would like to thank the following readers for their generous contributions towards the publication of this journal: William E. Anderson, William D. Andrews, Nancy M. Bannick, Gordon D. Batcheller, Carol & Bud Belz, Ronald Benson, John & Linda Boyles, Ronald P. Bridges, Priscilla L. Buckley, Irma I. Clark, Leo Corazza, John J. Duvall, Richard A. Edstrom, Lester Farmer, Robert Gates, Gary Gillespie, Joyce Griffin, Anthony Harrigan, Paul J. Hauser, William J. Hempel, Richard Herreid, Jaren E. Hiller, Donald C. Ingram, Burleigh Jacobs, Stephen W. Jenks, O. Guy Johnson, David A. Jones, Gloria Knoblauch, Joseph J. Laughlin, Calvin T. Lucy, Gregor MacDonald, Curtis Dean Mason, Bruno J. Mauer, David P. & Barbara R. Mitchel, King Odell, Garland L. & Betty Pugh, Willard Rogerson, Michael J. Ryan, Mr. & Mrs. R. P. Schonland, Fred W. Schultz, Irene Schultz, Joseph M. Simonet, John D. Sours, Samuel E. Stocks, Glenn Sturm, George D. Swanlund, Michael S. Swisher, Doug Tice, Daniel J. Torrance, James J. Whelan, Max L. Williamson, Chris Yunker.