Zbigniew Brzezinski Renews Call for Change

It seems impossible at times to write about the critical issues of the day without repeating oneself. I've been complaining about that but I seem to have very good company. Zbigniew Brzezinski is once again calling for change in the Bush Administration's policy towards Iraq and Iran; here's an excerpt from his article in the Los Angeles Times:

THE WAR IN IRAQ is a historic strategic and moral calamity undertaken under false assumptions. It is undermining America's global legitimacy. Its collateral civilian casualties, as well as some abuses, are tarnishing America's moral credentials. Driven by Manichean impulses and imperial hubris, it is intensifying regional instability.

Yet major strategic decisions in the Bush administration continue to be made within a very narrow circle of individuals — perhaps not more than the fingers on one hand. With the exception of the new Defense secretary, Robert M. Gates, these are the same individuals who have been involved from the start of this misadventure, who made the original decision to go to war in Iraq and who used the original false justifications for going to war. It is human nature to be reluctant to undertake actions that would imply a significant reversal of policy.

From the standpoint of U.S. national interest, this is particularly ominous. If the United States continues to be bogged down in protracted, bloody involvement in Iraq, the final destination on this downhill track is likely to be a head-on conflict with Iran and much of the Islamic world.

Perhaps the one new element is that Brzezinski emphasizes that staying in Iraq, particularly with the current policies and foreign policy team, has enormous potential to do even more damage to the United States than it already has. I suspect Brzezinski has the same concern as many other Americans do: getting to January 2009 with our country reasonably in good shape for the next president. If there are signs that Bush is deliberately trying to tie the hands of the next president by digging a deeper hole and doing more damage to our nation, even Republicans better start thinking about impeachment.