“To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.” The line from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest might apply to the wars of George W. Bush. Except that critics thought carelessness too kind a description of Bush’s second war.
for me, this story came full-circle when the installed regime in Afghanistan failed while the regime in Iraq persevered. By that measure- the unjustified invasion succeeded while the justified failed.
The last 20 years has been a sad time for Americans and labored within a foreign policy that at best is awkward or maybe misguided led by three administration's. Venturing warlike into the middle east without knowing the world of Islam has been disastrous and still there is little understanding of the power of extreme fanaticism. American culture carries these strands as well and I would hope we recognize these violent extreme positions.
Bush particularly had little understanding of that world and too easily was led by a cluster of neoliberals who were convinced countries can be forced into democratic ways of governing.
Again Prof Brands is right, presidential decisions and judgments carry life threatening consequences.
You are far more generous to Bush and his team than I am!
Bush knew being a war-time president was a likely ticket to a second term. The Taliban offered three times to turn Osama bin Laden over the the USA. And then, once invading Afghanistan, the Bush administration took its eye off bin Laden and turned to Iraq using lies. I don't believe for a minute Bush wasn't sure about WMDs. I would almost bet there were analysts providing information that Iraq didn't have WMDs.
In fairness, a lot of Democrats believed Saddam had WMDs too, based on the same faulty intelligence that Bush relied on:
https://youtu.be/Cwqh4wQPoQk?si=EJHrBtW0HiI5lSCN
And there’s no doubt Hussein had WMDs in the form of poison gas that he’d previously used on the Kurds.
for me, this story came full-circle when the installed regime in Afghanistan failed while the regime in Iraq persevered. By that measure- the unjustified invasion succeeded while the justified failed.
The last 20 years has been a sad time for Americans and labored within a foreign policy that at best is awkward or maybe misguided led by three administration's. Venturing warlike into the middle east without knowing the world of Islam has been disastrous and still there is little understanding of the power of extreme fanaticism. American culture carries these strands as well and I would hope we recognize these violent extreme positions.
Bush particularly had little understanding of that world and too easily was led by a cluster of neoliberals who were convinced countries can be forced into democratic ways of governing.
Again Prof Brands is right, presidential decisions and judgments carry life threatening consequences.
You are far more generous to Bush and his team than I am!
Bush knew being a war-time president was a likely ticket to a second term. The Taliban offered three times to turn Osama bin Laden over the the USA. And then, once invading Afghanistan, the Bush administration took its eye off bin Laden and turned to Iraq using lies. I don't believe for a minute Bush wasn't sure about WMDs. I would almost bet there were analysts providing information that Iraq didn't have WMDs.
Bush and Cheney etal are war criminals.
When he invaded Iraq, I wondered "why"? It kind of makes more sense knowing some of his motivations.