Last week, wireless technology again made it into public remarks by the president. It had nothing to do with U.S. spectrum management reform, though its context may partly explain the White House’s apparent apathy toward the spectrum initiative. The injection of cell phones into the commander-in-chief’s chatter didn’t come from a Hollywood script beautified by Gina Davis, either. Rather, it was channeled through a failed Democratic vice presidential aspirant many Democrats (and perhaps Republicans, too) believe could be a nice fit if Dick Cheney had to step aside for the remainder of the president’s second term.
Here’s what President Bush told the Council on Foreign Relations: “One of those who has seen that progress is Democratic Sen. Joe Lieberman. Sen. Lieberman has traveled to Iraq four times in the past 17 months, and the article he wrote when he returned from his most recent trip provides a clear description of the situation on the ground. Here’s what Senator Lieberman wrote-Sen. Lieberman wrote about the Iraq he saw: `Progress is visible and practical. There are many more cars on the streets, satellite television dishes on the roofs, and literally millions more cell phones in Iraqi hands than before.’ “
Three million or so to be exact. That does not count the public-safety radios Motorola Inc. and others have put into the hands of Iraqi security forces, among the most vulnerable and most vital component to any chance of success in the country.
Higher post-Saddam mobile-phone penetration in Iraq does not in itself prove progress is where it should be, much less justify the dubious decision to invade the country in the first place. But it is progress nonetheless, part of a bigger picture that has trouble being seen because of American and Iraqi deaths.
Bush was prompted (belatedly) to bring the big picture into shaper focus for Americans in reaction to the political firestorm set off by Rep. John Murtha’s (D-Pa.) call for U.S. troops to pull out of Iraq during the next six months. In that sense, Murtha-whether you agree or disagree with him-helped rein in the debate from one inexplicably left open-ended by-and to the detriment of-the Bush administration.
For his part, Lieberman is quickly becoming a pariah of sorts within a congressional Democratic caucus at war with itself over how to counter Bush’s “Johnny-one-note, stay-the-course” Iraq policy. Political polarization has simplistically reduced the debate to stay-the-course vs. cut and run. Neither position is adequate, or realistic. The situation is complex, just as any meaningful solution will be.
Folks in the U.S. government and telecom sector have spent a lot of time and risked their lives to get at least one building block-a very important one-in place in the political and economic rehabilitation of Iraq. Yes, there’s a profit motive for American firms. But you could find better working conditions elsewhere. Hopefully, these and so many other contributions and sacrifices will not have been in vain.
