Columnist E.J. Dionne: Doves, hawks in same policy boat now

Monday, April 12, 1999 | 10:26 a.m.

THREE FOREIGN policy syndromes are being laid to rest because of America's war against the Serbian forces of President Slobodan Milosevic. How we judge this use of American power will depend on results -- especially for suffering Kosovars and for the future effectiveness of NATO. But the end of potentially destructive preconceptions is always a good thing.

The Vietnam Syndrome. How this syndrome is described depends on your point of view. Seen from the perspective of opponents of the Vietnam War, it was a sensible wariness, a belief that it's prudent to recognize the limits of American power.

Seen from the viewpoint of those who still defend intervention in Vietnam, the syndrome was rooted in a mistaken belief that American power was an invidious force and could never be used to a good end.

The Vietnam syndrome has suffered many blows in this decade, beginning with America's success in the war against Iraq. By committing American forces in so many fights -- for starters, in Haiti, Bosnia and Iraq -- President Clinton has embraced the idea that American military power can be used on behalf of democracy, human rights and legitimate national interests.

But the war in Kosovo is the decisive break. This is a case in which most Vietnam era doves swallowed their ambivalence and endorsed the use of force. Some longtime hawks have indeed argued that former doves like this intervention precisely because vital American national interests are not at stake. If Pat Buchanan starts talking about Kosovo as liberalism's war, he won't be all wrong.

In an admirably candid column in USA Today recently, Walter Shapiro spoke for many anti-Vietnam veterans. "Schooled as I was in the limits of American military power, I now find myself in the awkward position of trying to justify my support for NATO airstrikes against Slobodan Milosevic," he wrote.

"As years of dithering over Bosnia tragically proved, America is the only nation with the resources and the will to take a firm stand against the barbarians and the terrorists at the gates of civilized society," Shapiro said.

The Gulf War Syndrome. This syndrome, the flip side of the Vietnam syndrome, threatened to convince us that the use of American power is easy.

The Gulf War was successful for two reasons: extraordinary preparation, and a very clear goal -- an end to Iraq's occupation of Kuwait. But it's wrong to conclude that the United States' technological superiority will make all future wars seem that easy.

The slaughter let loose in Kosovo by Milosevic's legions and the capture of American servicemen should teach us the limits of air power and the need to be prepared for battles in which technology must be supplemented by a will to see a war through.

Wars are ugly and involve moral evil. We should fight them only if our objectives are worthy, and if we are prepared to bring all our forces to bear to achieve them. That's why Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., is rightly earning kudos for his forthrightness in declaring that having entered this war to protect Kosovars, we shouldn't pull back until they're truly protected -- even if that may mean committing American ground troops.

The Knee-Jerk Syndrome. It used to be that hawks were hawks and doves were doves and their reactions to American intervention anywhere were predictable. That's still true of principled pacifists. But almost everyone else has lost policy virginity.

With so many former doves now Kosovo hawks and so many ex-hawks now Kosovo doves, it's impossible to stereotype anyone anymore. Almost everyone now accepts that American power can be used for good or ill, in the national interest or not, effectively or ineffectively. With the slaying of the syndromes, we can argue plainly about whether, when, where and how that power should be used.

And let's face this tragic fact: Even if the administration was unprepared for what this war would entail, the brutality of Milosevic's forces now gives us little choice but to fight on until Kosovars regain security in their own land.