Analysts Discuss U.S. Policy in Middle East, Katrina Anniversary, CIA Leak Case

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• JIM LEHRER:

  But first, Shields and Brooks, syndicated columnist Mark Shields, New York Times columnist David Brooks.

  David, how do you see the president's new speech offensive on Iraq and terror this week?

• DAVID BROOKS, Columnist, New York Times:

  Well, the thing that first strikes me about the White House these days is how it has narrowed down to the Middle East, that this is what they think about. The president every morning sees the casualty reports. On every trip, he's visiting the families of people who have been killed.

  His administration has focused down on this. And a lot of people are saying he's doing it for the fall elections. I don't think that's true. I think he's doing it for…

• JIM LEHRER:

  You don't think that's true.

• DAVID BROOKS:

  Well, at least there is a political element to it, but primarily it's to keep support for the war, and because this is what the administration has become all about: Iraq, Iran, Lebanon.

• JIM LEHRER:

  Iraq, Iran, Lebanon?

• MARK SHIELDS, Syndicated Columnist:

  Jim, I don't take quite as benign an approach to the president's speech. The president said…

• JIM LEHRER:

  Speeches.

• MARK SHIELDS:

  Speeches. The president's speeches. The president said, in particularly the Salt Lake City speech, that this was the ideological battle of the 21st century, the battle of Iraq, upon its outcome and victory there, dependent victory in the battle of the war against terrorism.

  If that's true, what the hell are we doing with 130,000 troops there? We ought to have half a million. Why haven't we mobilized the home front? Why aren't we paying for this? I mean, why, seriously, isn't the country on a war-footing, if that's really what he's talking about?

  And comparing this to battle against communism, the Cold War, and comparing it to the battle against Nazism? I mean, to me, you're making a statement like that, and then you just totally contradict yourself by saying, "We're going to continue with this failed policy and this failed approach."

• JIM LEHRER:

  What about that, David?

• DAVID BROOKS:

  Well, it's a good point. Would you support half a million troops there? That's the problem. Right now, he couldn't get the military to support it, in part because he didn't raise the size of the military after 9/11. He couldn't, at this point, get the country to do it.

  I agree with him, and I agree with Mark. I agree it is an ideological conflict almost equal to the size of the fight against communism in the Soviet Union and fascism. If you look at a recent survey done in the Middle East, who are the five most important people in this region? It was the head of Hezbollah, the head of Iran, the head of Hamas, the head of Egyptian Brotherhood, all Islamists.

  This Islamist movement continues to build and build and build, whether it's Sunni, Shia, Iran, Iraq. This is a big ideological fight.

  Mark's point is perfectly valid, though. If it's that big, why aren't we fighting to win? Why aren't we committing 80 percent of the troops necessary to do the job?