Foolish

by Ted Sherman

Created on: September 03, 2007   Last Updated: September 04, 2007

On Labor Day, while all the candidates for the 2008 presidency were out speaking to union gatherings and holiday picnics throughout the US, non-candidate President Bush suddenly showed up in Iraq. Of course, he was only there for a couple of unannounced hours, under heavy guard, to make a couple of patriotic speeches and pose for photo ops surrounded by Marines and GIs. And then high-tail it back to the safety of Washington, DC.

To his admirers, his visit looked like a grand show of bravery to our troops and defiance to our enemies. For that short visit, it took considerable secret planning, assigning of sophisticated security measures and tough work for his crews both at home and in the combat areas. They had to consider the dangers, because it was just a week ago that a helicopter full of Congressmen was fired on by a missile as it flew over the Baghdad area.

However, to those who oppose the President and his current policies, some of the photo and video ops that came out of his quick visit to our troops in Iraq bring up eerily familar images. How many of us bitterly recall similar scenes of six years ago when he landed on an aircraft carrier. We saw him jump out of a Navy jet, stride along the flight deck all gussied up in combat pilot's gear, and arrogantly announce, "Mission accomplished!"

Was it worth the trouble and danger this time for the President to make such a trip to Iraq? He must be well aware of his declining support for the war as it is drags into year seven. He's not running for reelection, so we can only guess the reasons for his showing up in the war zone, something he failed to do as an Air Force combat pilot during the Vietnamese War.

As his term as President winds down, he may be trying to add something graphically positive to his legacy. His actions could also be intended to boost the sagging spirits of the Republican Party, as it struggles to remain competitive despite what seem to be never-ending scandals, and continuing failure of the announced Presidential candidates to ignite any semblance of voter interest.

This ploy by George W. Bush recalls something similar that was witnessed by this old Navy guy concerning another potential President who put on such an obvious act of foolish bravery. Our APA troopship disembarked GIs as they went ashore on the beaches of Leyte in the Philippines in November 1944. On a sister ship, the imperious boss of the invasion rode a landing craft in with the second wave, about an hour after the beach was secured.

Of course, despite a successful landing and the wiping out of beach defenses, no area is totally safe for at least several days. There are always stragglers and snipers who stay behind to take potshots. As our ship's boat was unloading troops and supplies, we Navy crews were there to help with communications and take casualties back to our ships for treatment.

As I was sitting in a shell hole with some of our radio guys calling back and forth to the ship, we saw a boat pull up near us. It lowered its ramp, and out into the foot-high water jumped a squad of heavily-armed GIs. Just behind them, surrounded by a dozen photographers, along with some staff flunkies and Filipino officials, marched the regal General Douglas MacArthur. We looked on amazed as he seemed to part the waters like Moses as he strode ashore.

Even with another year of the war to fight, the publicity was that MacArthur was planning to return in glory after the war and run for President in 1948. I was a 19-year-old kid, and was awed by his godlike presence so close to me. However, a grizzled GI sergeant in the shell hole with us brought it all into perspective.

He looked at the procession, spat a wad of tobacco toward the beach, and said, "Look at that stupid son-of-a-bitch marchin' around like he was on parade. He's makin' a target of the whole area, puttin' us all in danger. If he wants to get his ass shot off, let him go do it somewhere else."

We found out later that General MacArthur had staged the landing four times that morning at different sections of the beach, and later chose the best film footage and still photos for the eventual release to the media. As with the publicity-hungry MacArthur, who never got nominated for President, I believe President Bush's quick and foolish trip to Iraq was far more grandstanding than grand.

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