January 15, 2003 5:19 AM

A Republican in Democratic clothing

A Democrat candidate who out-hawks Bush

I rarely take George Will seriously, but it was tough to pass on this profile of Florida Senator Bob Graham. While no one will ever mistake him for "B1 Bob" (California Republican fruitcake Bob Dornan), he is a hawk, and he is running for President.

He charges that the Bush administration has politicized both the classification and the leaking of information. He says leaking the story of the Predator strike that killed al-Qaida operatives in Yemen embarrassed Yemen's government by revealing their cooperation with America.

He believes the 9/11 hijackers were given logistical and other help by a foreign government's -- he will not say which -- "facilitation network" in this country. He thinks that network remains in place and probably will assist terrorists here during a war with Iraq. The FBI, he says, has been "aggressively passive" in not responding to inquiries about this, but "the FBI as much as said" it is not allowed to be responsive.

Graham says the administration does not want to roil relations with this unnamed country as war possibly impends. But "here is what President Graham would have done" by now:

Recognize that al-Qaida is not the only, or the most competent, terrorist organization targeting American interests and America itself. Hezbollah, especially, has demonstrated "a willingness, even enthusiasm, to kill Americans" and its relations with Iran may give it access to that country's chemical and biological weapons, which are "greater in volume than Iraq's." And Hezbollah has a "significant presence" in America.

Graham says that in Damascus last July he told Syria's President Assad that America has proof of terrorist camps in Syria and Syrian-controlled Lebanon. Assad denied it. President Graham, says Graham, would expand President Bush's doctrine of pre-emption by telling Damascus that it must close the camps, or America will.

Hard to believe the man's a Democrat- especially for all of you hawks who think that conducting a war is the private playground of Conservative Republicans, eh? The next time you smirk to yourself that no Democrat could handle the war on terror in the no-nonsense manner that Shrub has, keep this in mind. Graham may not have a realistic shot at being elected (at least as things stand now), but stranger things have happened.

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 15, 2003 5:19 AM.

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