At UNR, no escaping D.C. chatter

Michael J. Mishak

Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007 | 6:54 a.m.

RENO - A Republican forum in Reno on Monday was billed as an opportunity for presidential candidates and foreign policy experts to debate substance five months before the Nevada caucuses.

Sponsored by the Brookings Institution and ABC News, "Opportunity '08" was to be a bipartisan project that attempts to escape the conventional wisdom of Washington pundits and politicians.

No such luck.

No Republican contender showed up on UNR's campus. The panel of experts largely praised President Bush's vision prescription for spreading democracy around the world. It sounded a lot like Washington chatter.

The Democratic side will have its chance at a Brookings/ABC forum Wednesday. Just two candidates are expected: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Delaware Sen. Joe Biden.

At Monday's forum, Peter W. Rodman, a senior Brookings fellow and, most recently, an international security adviser to President Bush, said : "The president of the United States has put his finger on something of fundamental importance, and he's being nitpicked to death for it. Since 9/11 we have no choice but to confront the swamp that is the Middle East. Islamism is a movement that has declared war on us. That's what the conflict in the Middle East is about."

Rodman described the war on terror as "an ideological conflict as profound as the Cold War " and said the United States should work with moderate governments in the region to advocate democracy.

Rodman also called for a harder line on Iran, saying America's allies in the region see Iraq and the country's involvement there as a real gauge of American strength and credibility for future conflicts.

The forum came as Congress awaits word from Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq, who is to deliver a much-anticipated report next month on the progress of the troop surge.

Although military commanders have noted some successes, the Army has nearly exhausted its fighting force, leaving the administration a series of painful options if it decides to extend the Iraq buildup beyond next spring.

Opposing views at the forum came largely from John Scire, a UNR political scientist and 27-year military veteran - and the panel's sole registered Democrat.

Scire took aim at Bush's strategy, which he called noble in intention, but "horrific" in its execution.

"By declaring this grand crusade to promote democracy, he's created a host of enemies in the Middle East," Scire said. "He created an impossible tactical situation. We should be supporting democracies, but this is an excuse for a failed policy."

Ty Cobb, a former special assistant to President Ronald Reagan on national security affairs and a UNR alumnus, fired back. He acknowledged the administration made tactical mistakes but said the mission was worthwhile.

Rodman said a stable Iraqi government was within reach and applauded recent military successes in securing Baghdad.

"The Iraqis have an opportunity now," Rodman said. "I would give them some slack. The September deadline is a totally arbitrary deadline. The alternative is disastrous for us and for them."

The audience of about 50 people, most of them UNR faculty and students, peppered the panel with questions on everything from reinstating the draft (none advocated that) to closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba, (few options but to keep it open) to government subsidies for science and research (possibly for alternative fuels, but private sector does it best).

As for the topic at hand, Cobb had a prediction: "As we move forward in the Republican primary, there will be no candidate who rises to a position of influence who will advocate anything other than staying the course in Iraq."