The character of wartime statesmen: Eliot Cohen discusses what made Lincoln, Clemenceau, Churchill and Ben-Gurion effective wartime leaders and analyzes how President George W. Bush stacks up

0 Comments | Insight on the News, May 13, 2003 | by Stephen Goode

Q: You referred to "World War IV" in a November 2001 Wall Street Journal column. World Wars I and II we know about. World War III was the Cold War. What is World War IV?

A: I did that tongue-in-cheek as a way of getting people to think about the current conflict as something bigger than the Afghanistan war. It's something that could last a long time.

I think Iraq is part of that overall conflict in several ways. First, it's part of the post-9/11 sensibility. The one thing neither Democrats nor Republicans are willing to admit is that the war in which we just engaged represents the logical continuation of Clinton administration policy. By 1998 the Clinton administration was saying Saddam Hussein was out to get weapons of mass destruction, that this would be a disaster and that we had to get rid of him.

After the attacks of 9/11 changed national sensibilities, the Bush administration went out and did it. Although the war was primarily about the menace of the regime there is hope that this victory will help change some of the underlying circumstances that gave rise to the events of Sept. 11.

Q: What are some of the underlying circumstances that may be changed as a result of the war?

A: It may be that this war will allow us to get out of Saudi Arabia, for example. We're there because of Saddam Hussein. If we go back to Osama bin Laden's February 1998 platform, what's the first thing that's bothering him? That U.S. forces are on the holy ground of Saudi Arabia. We should take that stuff seriously.

And I think there are likely to be long-term consequences of the war. If we can help create in Iraq a responsible government, a continuing better place from the point of civil liberties and just government, that would be a huge step forward and a great example. The victory already is beginning to create a certain kind of conversation that may yield something positive.

Q: Does George W. Bush rank up there with Lincoln, Clemenceau, Churchill and Ben-Gurion as a wartime leader?

A: He is an authentically modest man, and I don't think he would claim to be in that league. But I give him pretty high marks, first and foremost for sheer determination. That's a very important characteristic, and all four of them had it. All four had some very, very dark moments. Each of these men was, in some measure, melancholic. All of them persevered.

Bush has been tested since 9/11 and has persevered despite internal opposition. All of these men faced internal opposition. All of them persisted, too, in the face of a difficult international diplomatic environment. Bush has done that as well.

I think President Bush's most authentic and important characteristic is his faith, and I think that has had a profound impact.

Personal Bio

Eliot Cohen: The professor as captured in the Financial Times.

Currently: Professor and director of strategic studies at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of the Johns Hopkins University; author, Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in Wartime.