Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Old budget won’t do job

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2001 | 8:43 a.m.

So why do we keep hearing some of the same nonsense we heard during the Gulf War 10 years ago? Probably because we have put together a rather shaky coalition of Muslim-dominated countries that don't have their hearts in this confrontation with the extremists of their faith. Even before the ground war of 100 hours started during the Gulf War, we heard several coalition members whine about what they called the "excessive" bombing of Iraq and Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard.

Last week, right here at home, a small group of American Muslim organizations called for the United States to halt its bombing campaign. They say they want "a more effective and long-term policy" to fight terrorism. Their ideas would have made sense last summer, but not now. We can discuss their suggestions after we finish the job we were presented on Sept. 11, 200l.

A few days earlier, Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, got carried away with his own rhetoric before the self-centered Council on Foreign Relations. Biden told his listeners that if we continue the bombing it will support the terrorists' theory that "we're high-tech bullies from the air." He said he hopes it will end sooner rather than later and that American troops fighting al-Qaida terrorists "mano a mano" would be more acceptable to the Islamic world. Sure, Joe, let's all line up with swords and ride camels into combat after they have taken over our own airplanes and slaughtered so many Americans.

There was the Associated Press photo of damage to a home in Kabul with a cutline saying it was bombed on Friday, the prayer day for Muslims. Then came the call for us not to fight during the Muslim month of Ramadan. This sounds like a good way to fight another 100-year war with no conclusion. We wouldn't fight on Friday out of respect for Islam, not on Saturday out of respect for the Jews or on Sunday, when many Christians go to church. I'll put these and other ridiculous ideas in the same garbage can with the resolutions coming from the City Council of Berkeley, Calif.

Now we hear that winter is coming to the mountains of Afghanistan and we won't we able to conduct a war during winter. Who came up with this kind of claptrap? We have an Army mountain division and Marines trained to fight in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during winter months. Nobody ever called a timeout for the Battle of the Bulge during World War II or during our three winters in Korea.

In the meantime our military men and women are fighting with the same budget and equipment they had before Sept. 11. Both were defective then and Congress and the president have done more about anthrax than they have about strengthening our active combat forces.

It's going to cost money, and our military's strength won't improve until our leaders realize that Americans are willing to tighten their belts and don't expect to have both guns and butter. They want to win a fight they didn't pick. They also know that their best defense is an effective offense. Anything less could result in the American Tragedy of the 21st century.