Peggy Noonan: Bush Makes the Right Move

Opinion Journal | 04/05/2002 | Peggy Noonan

[Pokey78]

Ping for the PNPL.

[newzjunkey]

After my rants yesterday, it would seem MAYBE Bush does have a clue after all. But I'm skeptical. I'm still tired of hearing about this story.

[ladyinred]

Another wonderful piece by Peggy. No one can say it as eloquently as she.
I am a little confused about the President's speech myself, but I do trust he is doing what is in the best interest of our nation.
I hope that does not involve abandoning Israel though.

[crystalk]

Praise from the Left for Bush.

I think I would rather have seen Gore in there, an avowed enemy, than a false, two-timing "friend" like this!

We shall keep a score of how many Jewish lives this costs. And I assure you right now, its beneficial effect is absolutely zero, zip, nada.

The suicide bombers will be back on the street within 24 hours.

[a_witness]

We shall keep a score of how many Jewish lives this costs.

All the nations will gather against Israel. Only the Messiah will be true. All the others are deceivers and betrayers.

[Pokey78]

I don't know if I've ever seen so many different opinions of what one person said in a speech in my life. No two people heard the speech the same.

[fire and forget]

You may very well be right. We should expect additional attacks. But what would you do in Bush's shoes under these difficult circumstances, even assuming he's not, as President, vastly better informed and better counseled than you or I? Certainly he might throw himself behind the Israelis 100% at the very time he's mounting a concerted campaign against world-wide terrorism. Perhaps that might handicap our ability to achieve the objectives we set for ourselves in the aftermath of 9-11, to say nothing about considerations like maintaining the flow of oil from the Middle East, upon which, at least for a while unfortunately our economy and many others depend.

[Jesse]

"Colon" Powell is an unapologetic affirmative action baby who has been promoted to a position far above his level of incompetence. The Arabs don't "like" him, they see him as the rollable figurehead of an adminstration which believes that it's OK for Israel to defend itself against terrorists on it's soil as long as it gives the terrorists a fair chance to fight back.

I've been pretty disgusted with everyone from Europe to the Pope criticizing Israel for finally saying enough is enough and defending itself against this ragtag bunch of terrorist bastards and delusional human bombs being handed marching orders(10, 9, 8...) from Arafat. But when Bush told Israel to pack it in today...oh, well, not surprised. What else would you expect from a Bush?

[PokeyJoe]

Praise from the Left for Bush.

Is this statement in reference to Peggy Noonan?

As the Gunga King (you remember Jar Jar Binks?) once said - "Me be thinking you going crazy - bubuh bubuh bubuh bubuh"

[wardaddy]

Peggy is no leftist. I wish Rummy and Wolfie and Cheney were running the foreign policy show as well....I'm not quite ready to throw down the gauntlet on Bush just yet. Maybe he feels he has to at least make the appearance of trying for peace. He does have to take into account the entire world and not just Israel....as much as I wish it were otherwise

[My2Cents]

I didn't really read your post. I've come to ignore your crankiness.

[traditionalist]

We shall keep a score of how many Jewish lives this costs. And I assure you right now, its beneficial effect is absolutely zero, zip, nada.

Bush is the president of the US, not Israel, and for once an American president is putting the interests of his own country over that of Israel. While his action probably won't help Israelis, it will help Americans; we need the cooperation of moderate Arab governements such as Jordan's, Egypt's, and the Gulf States in are war on Al Qaeda, and we won't get that cooperation unless we put Israel on a leash.

[traditionalist]

All the nations will gather against Israel. Only the Messiah will be true. All the others are deceivers and betrayers.

The messiah already came, and the New Israel is the Church of Christ. Those of the old Israel who rejected the messiah have fallen from grace. See the writings of St. Paul.

[Harrison Bergeron]

"Certainly he might throw himself behind the Israelis 100% at the very time he's mounting a concerted campaign against world-wide terrorism. Perhaps that might handicap our ability to achieve the objectives we set for ourselves in the aftermath of 9-11,"

Of course the president is better informed than you and I. I suspect, by his seeming lack of action and tough rhetoric agaist Yassir Arafat, that he knows that the man behind the curtain pulling all the levers is actually Sadaam Hussein. Funny, isn't it, that the suicide bombings in Israel took off in earnest as soon as the United States publically announced that it had Iraq in its sites for the next anti-terrorist military campaign. And Saddaam invited the Western press to witness the ceremony when he upped the bonus for families of suicide bombers from $10,000 to $25,000. Sadaam is doing everything in his power to make sure that the masses associate any attacks on Iraq not with terrorism against the United States, but with the Palestinian issue. The current flare up on the West Bank is just a trap set to widen the theatre and weaken the Bush coalition. Bush has done an admirable job of not falling for it.

[Bogie]

Bush is still doing the right things.

Amazing for a guy who recently moved into an office that was packed to the hilt with other people's baggage!

[ikka]

He said, essentially, that both sides in the struggle have a case, a plea that can be made to the world's conscience. He made it clear he remains a supporter of Israel's right to defend itself and to assert its right to nationhood and freedom. "I speak as a committed friend to Israel." But Israeli settlement activity must stop, and Israel should "lay the foundations of future peace" by halting its incursions into Palestinian areas, and in fact withdrawing from them. He asked Israel to show "a respect" for those who feel humiliated by the actions of its soldiers.

First, in a piece written a few weeks ago, she defends crack-smoking mushroom-eating Alan Sorkin for his liberal spew show on NBC, called the "Left Wing".

Now she supports and lauds Bush backing down from supporting Israel.

Bye-bye Peggy.

[The Great Satan]

Exactamundo.