Striking Back
The American strikes against Sudan and Afghanistan divide neatly into examples of forward thinking and “same old stuff.”
The cruise missile attack against a suspected chemical weapons precursor factory in Sudan was a terrific idea! The administration gets an “A+” for originality, design and execution. Cruise missiles are the perfect weapon for taking out a precisely located site with little or no collateral damage. It does appear that the factory was an actual chemical weapons site.
The American strikes against Sudan and Afghanistan divide neatly into examples of forward thinking and “same old stuff.”
The cruise missile attack against a suspected chemical weapons precursor factory in Sudan was a terrific idea! The administration gets an “A+” for originality, design and execution. Cruise missiles are the perfect weapon for taking out a precisely located site with little or no collateral damage. It does appear that the factory was an actual chemical weapons site. But even if it was not, the signal has been sent that America is serious about chemical proliferation and we are able to do something about it. “Pre-emptive arms control” as someone said of Israel’s raid on Osirak. The only way to improve upon this raid would be to announce that it is our policy. Iraq, North Korea, Iran, Libya, Syria – all on the “Terrorism List,” all threatening American interests, and all with burgeoning ballistic missile and WMD programs – should consider themselves warned.
The Afghan raid, on the other hand, leaves something to be desired. The cruise missiles that were so effective in a pinpoint strike were unable to cause the broad swath of destruction necessary to put the terrorist”university” out of commission. Notwithstanding the political and military difficulties, a traditional bombing raid would have done a better job. And, by not hitting the leadership, Osama bin Laden may consider himself forced to retaliate to prove that he is still in business. There is some thought that the President is hamstrung by the Presidential Decision Directive ruling out assassination, and by limits on clandestine operations. While assassination is an ugly thought, it is not nearly as ugly as terrorism, and terrorists bring it on themselves. We agree with the President and the Secretary of State that we are fighting a war, and we believe that no capabilities should be off limits for consideration.
The President gets a second “plus” for freezing bin Laden’s reachable assets, even if we are a little late. But without help from our allies, it is hard to see how this carries any practical weight – bin Laden lived in London for years and has investments all over the Arab world; what we can touch is negligible.
It is almost impossible to discuss the raids on Sudan and Afghanistan without mentioning their timing. But we will.
The Sudan raid speaks volumes about American capability. And if the Afghan raid is the opening salvo in a war that will make use of all of our resources – including intelligence and clandestine operations – no one should doubt America’s reach.