THE RABBIT AT THE DOG TRACK:

Bob Graham for President? (George Will, January 13, 2003, Washington Post)

Now in his 37th year in politics, this former state legislator and two-term governor is in the fifth year of his third Senate term and was until this year chairman of the Intelligence Committee. There he came to the conclusions that caused him to oppose the resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. He believes the resolution is ``too timid.'' He voted against it after the Senate rejected his amendment to authorize force anywhere against all terrorist groups, such as Hezbollah, who ``probably'' will strike America as Iraq falls.

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 Qaeda 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 Qaeda 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.

He'd find no support for such open-ended attacks in his own party, his State Department, his Pentagon, the Congress, or the international community. That doesn't mean he's wrong, only that these threats are hollow. But it will be worthwhile to add his voice to the debate in a forum where he'll get more attention. It will be particularly helpful to get folks started thinking about the eventual necessity to topple Syria's Assad regime and to help Israel clean out Hezbollah from Lebanon. Posted by Orrin Judd at January 13, 2003 8:24 AM