A house divided will fall

Americans must immediately begin to place the London bombing in a wider context of the global war on terror. We do not have all the facts as yet. It will take months to assemble them. We do not know if was carried out by British Jihadies or Muslim veterans from the Iraqi war. One thing is for sure, it is time for both sides to put away ideology and political ambition in favor of a unified American strategy in the war on terror.

It is very difficult for people who opposed the war on strategic grounds, and I count myself among them, to resist the urge to continue to expose the utter stupidity of the decision to invade Iraq. In my opinion, current events bear out that it was precisely the wrong thing to do. I believe Bush's deceptive bait-and-switch case for war combined with his cavalcade of incompetence in stabilizing the country after the invasion make him impeachable. Indeed, I believe he deserves to be impeached.

In response to 9-11 Bush set up a Graduate School for terrorists. We will be feeling the effects of its graduates for decades. London may very well be the first of many. Unfortunately we can't afford the luxury of dealing out blame. The salient fact isn't that Bush facilitated the creation of the Iraqi University for Terrorists. The salient fact is that there now exists an Iraqi University for Terrorists.

Liberals and progressives must not continue to focus on the decision to invade Iraq in any context except to avoid such mistakes in the future. Though no president deserves to be impeached more than Bush, we must not focus on impeaching him. We must focus instead on creating and supporting a meaningful strategy that includes the best of the conservative offerings. I call for liberals and democrats across Minnesota to begin to acknowledge the complexity of the Global War on Terror. Responding to it may mean we have to reconsider some of our more utopian ideals. This may include a re-examination of the Patriot Act. We do not need to dismantle civil liberties in this country, but we must acknowledge that law enforcement needs additional power to find and track down those who seek to indiscriminately kill us. We must not ever condone torture, under any circumstances. We must continue to provide full accountability for our actions in an international context. But we must acknowledge that the war on terror produces captives that defy traditional categorization - those that are neither civil prisoner nor prisoner of war. It is wise to construct a place, such as Guantanamo Bay for them to land. We must acknowledge now, today, that we have to do whatever it takes to dismantle the Iraqi Terrorist University - and that means doing what we must to help the armed forces meet its recruitment goals. It means adopting soldiers and supporting the troops. It probably means sending our kids to recruiting stations, though as a father with four sons, I am loath to admit it. I am especially resistant to it because I have so little trust in the current administration. But that could change if Republicans reached across the aisle to help America build a realistic strategy on the war on terror.

In pursuit of a realistic strategy in the global war on terror, Conservatives should set aside any defense of the Iraqi invasion. Republicans should acknowledge, today, that their leadership built the Iraqi University for Terrorists. Republicans must drop the smug facade and spin that we are winning in Iraq. They must come forward with an honest appeal that includes realistic assessments of the size of the insurgency in Iraq. They must stop relating the invasion to 9.11. If my government is going to ask me to sacrifice one of my children, by God I want the truth.

Republicans must acknowledge that the Global War on Terror is not primarily a military exercise. It is primarily an exercise in creating sustainable, international relationships among free nations, law enforcement agencies, economic institutions and political groups. Together these groups must slowly, inexorably wring the terrorist poison from the fabric of society. Republicans must realize, today, right now, that the US cannot continue to staff, fund and fight the war on terror alone. This will require them to set aside some of their most closely held ideals. For example, they must begin to actively sustain and support the UN. They must send a true diplomat to the UN to ask for massive international help. Republicans should jettison any ideological litmus testing with regards to staffing technical positions in nation building roles in favor of field tested veterans from either party. Republicans could drop all wedge issues like gay marriage and abortion in favor of unifying the country around dismantling the Iraqi Terrorist University. Republicans could fully cooperate with all efforts to get control over the financial excesses of the contractors supposedly doing the hard work in Iraq. Republicans could repudiate Karl Rove when he shoots off his mouth and denigrates all Democrats as cowards. Republicans could actively end systematic efforts to marginalize Democrats.

Mind you, this is not meant to be an exhaustive list of the sacrifices we must all make in pursuit of creating a unified America. But creating a unified America has to be our first priority. We had better all start turning a very cold eye on anything that truly divides us. Start with your neighbor. It isn't going to matter what party you are from when the bomb goes off on the bus.