President Bush is a Dangerous Guy

[ConstantineX]

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Okay, I agree, the Bush Admin has done a very poor job of meeting the imaginary goals that you think they have.

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I'm sure I'm wasting my breath here, but you must be aware that the neoconservatives that comprise the bulk of Bush's inner circle regarded Iraq as the crown jewel of an ideological mission to bring democracy to Islam (along with the adjunct military goal of establishing huge superbases in the heart of the ME). To what degree control of the oil reserves factored into the equation, I don't know--I'm sure it was a big factor. Claiming that the whole enterprise was about profiteering, however, is simplistic and manifestly untrue.

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QFT POTD

[ConstantineX]

Surely great visions don't require singular courses of action? Is there only one way to achieve his goals? It's cliche, but there are many paths to success. In a different role, under different circumstances, Bush's plan might have been the correct one. But not in this universe.

[bobman0330]

Why is GWB terrible? is the Rorschach test of politics. Most of the replies in this thread involve people projecting their own political theories onto the facts and turning it into their own little morality tale. I think the truth is much simpler.

If you went back in a time machine to the year 2000 and told some voters that GWB got elected and was ignoring career bureaucrats, generals, and politicians from his own party, I don't think they'd be that surprised. Bush's image has always been that of a guy with deep convictions, big ideas, and a belief that the entrenched ways in DC are bad. How could anyone be surprised that he ignored the opinions of careerist State Dept. guys to pursue his vision of transforming the Middle East? Or that he'll support subordinates he believes to be doing well without regard to what long-time Senators have to say? That was a big part of his campaign.

None of that excuses the resulting managerial incompetence, of course. But there's much less to be explained that might be thought. Bush isn't the frontman of an evil conspiracy, he's just a bad manager with large, impractical ideas who's out of his depth.

[Kaj]

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Why is GWB terrible?

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Didn't you answer this yourself (and rather similarly to the OP et al)?

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he's just a bad manager with large, impractical ideas who's out of his depth.

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[SNOWBALL]

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Okay, I agree, the Bush Admin has done a very poor job of meeting the imaginary goals that you think they have.


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I'm sure I'm wasting my breath here, but you must be aware that the neoconservatives that comprise the bulk of Bush's inner circle regarded Iraq as the crown jewel of an ideological mission to bring democracy to Islam (along with the adjunct military goal of establishing huge superbases in the heart of the ME). To what degree control of the oil reserves factored into the equation, I don't know--I'm sure it was a big factor. Claiming that the whole enterprise was about profiteering, however, is simplistic and manifestly untrue.



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the historic and current US record in the middle east has been to support totalitarian governments, and to actively oppose democracy. Do you realize how much money the US gives to EGYPT and TURKEY every single year?

[iron81]

Turkey is a democracy. I just saw a story today about how there was a 100,000 people at a protest in Istanbul against the ruling party selecting an islamist as their candidate.

[SNOWBALL]

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Turkey is a democracy. I just saw a story today about how there was a 100,000 people at a protest in Istanbul against the ruling party selecting an islamist as their candidate.


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Are you familiar with what they did to the kurds throughout the nineties? Did you know that they put book publishers and journalists in jail semi-routinely? A few years ago they jailed a journalist for using kurdish orthography when talking about the new year. I think it was the difference of a single letter in the word.

[samsonite2100]

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Okay, I agree, the Bush Admin has done a very poor job of meeting the imaginary goals that you think they have.


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I'm sure I'm wasting my breath here, but you must be aware that the neoconservatives that comprise the bulk of Bush's inner circle regarded Iraq as the crown jewel of an ideological mission to bring democracy to Islam (along with the adjunct military goal of establishing huge superbases in the heart of the ME). To what degree control of the oil reserves factored into the equation, I don't know--I'm sure it was a big factor. Claiming that the whole enterprise was about profiteering, however, is simplistic and manifestly untrue.



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the historic and current US record in the middle east has been to support totalitarian governments, and to actively oppose democracy. Do you realize how much money the US gives to EGYPT and TURKEY every single year?

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Although America continues to prop up various regimes, the neocons' "democracy at the barrel of a gun" agenda was a big seachange from the Scrowcroftian (and before that, Kissingerian) pragmatism that characterized US foreign policy for decades. Anyway, I'm not sure what your point is.

[AlexM]

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I never want a guy who "analyzes" and "adjusts". I want a guy who goes after something with a, "damn the torpedoes. Full speed ahead" mentality. It is the dreamers that change the world, not the analyzers (who are a dime a dozen).

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Again, Hitler would be an excellent example.

[/ QUOTE ]Yeah. But that doesn't change the fact that it is the guys like that who change the world.

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And a president who's going to change the world is just going to make it worse, so no thanks.