Editorial: Hysteria grips a few GOP leaders

Friday, Dec. 18, 1998 | 10:09 a.m.

Overall the reaction to President Clinton's use of airstrikes against Iraq has been received with bipartisan support. It long has been an axiom in America that partisan politics ends at the water's edge in foreign policy, especially in times of international crises.

Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican who for years has been a voice of reason within the GOP, voiced his support for the Democratic president's decision Wednesday. A Vietnam War hero, McCain dismissed concerns that Clinton's decision was timed to distract attention from an impending impeachment vote, crediting the president with decisive action. "I think he will receive significant support, because it's pretty obvious that Saddam Hussein is neither complying nor cooperating," McCain said.

Other Republicans joined McCain, too. But it is sad and disturbing that many Republican leaders questioned the president's motivation:

* "After months of lies the president has given millions of people around the world reason to doubt that he has sent Americans into battle for the right reasons." -- House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas.

* "Both the timing and policy are subject to question ... I cannot support this military action in the Persian Gulf at this time." -- Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss.

* "Never underestimate a desperate president. This time he means business. What option is left for getting impeachment off the front page and maybe even postponed?" -- House Rules Committee Chairman Gerald Solomon, R-N.Y.

The president's decision to launch the strikes came just one day after the United Nations received a report from Richard Butler, the head of the U.N. weapons inspection team in Iraq, outlining Saddam Hussein's repeated refusals to allow unrestricted inspections of suspected weapons facilities. Do these Republicans genuinely expect us to believe that an Australian is willing to submit a false report to save the president's hide?

In addition, assuming for a moment the hysterical hypothetical that the president launched a politically motivated airstrike, who in his right mind would believe that Gen. Hugh Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Defense Secretary William Cohen, a Republican, would go along with such a plan?

It is one thing for backbenchers to rant and rave against a president. It is outrageous for those in leadership positions to exercise such poor judgment, attacking a president during a foreign policy crisis when they have no facts to justify their ridiculous assertions. Their behavior is disgraceful.