Kristof: Saving the Iraqi Children

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Saving the Iraqi Children: "Lately, I've been quiet about the war because it's easy to rail about the administration's foolishness last year but a lot harder to offer constructive suggestions for what we should do now. President Bush's policy on Iraq has migrated from delusional - we would be welcomed with flowers, we should disband the Iraqi army, security is fine, the big problem is exaggerations by nervous Nellie correspondents - to reasonable today. These days, the biggest risk may come from the small but growing contingent on the left that wants to bring our troops home now."

But this is not an either-or choice! The choice is not between staying the course and leaving now. The reason we can't imagine other possibilities is that we haven't even tried to think of them. Let's stop now to think about what we should do, and leave aside the options that clearly won't work.

Dowd: A Plague of Toadies

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: A Plague of Toadies: "W. and Vice want to extend their personal control over bureaucracies they thought had impeded their foreign policy. It's alarming to learn that they regard their first-term foreign policy - a trumped-up war and bungled occupation, an estrangement from our old allies and proliferating nuclear ambitions in North Korea, Iran and Russia - as impeded. What will an untrammeled one look like?"

Dowd: Slapping the Other Cheek

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Slapping the Other Cheek: "Bob Jones III, president of the fundamentalist college of the same name, has written a letter to the president telling him that 'Christ has allowed you to be his servant' so he could 'leave an imprint for righteousness,' by appointing conservative judges and approving legislation 'defined by biblical norm.'
'In your re-election, God has graciously granted America - though she doesn't deserve it - a reprieve from the agenda of paganism,' Mr. Jones wrote. 'Put your agenda on the front burner and let it boil. You owe the liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ.' Way harsh."

King Abdullah II: The Road From Here

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: The Road From Here: "We can't win the war on terror if we don't act together. We Muslims were the first targets of the extremists, whose stated goal is to bring down moderate governments and stop the growth of democratic civil society. "

Lou Cannon: Can Bush Break the Second-Term Jinx?

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: Can Bush Break the Second-Term Jinx?: "President Bush, now basking in his re-election honeymoon, is likely to face even greater skepticism over Iraq if the prospects for success there do not improve after the current offensive in Falluja and the Iraqi elections in January. Both Mr. Buckley andMr. Will, for example, have questioned the wisdom of the Iraq war. Further to the right, Patrick Buchanan has denounced the war and insisted (accurately, I believe) that Ronald Reagan would never have waged it."

Herbert: Days of Shame

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Days of Shame: "It was Dwight Eisenhower, a Republican, who said that 'America's leadership and prestige depend, not merely upon our unmatched material progress, riches and military strength, but on how we use our power in the interests of world peace and human betterment.'"