Reaping What Bush Sowed

[malaise]

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,427635,00.html

I hope Democrats read this.
<snip>
The extremist and rejectionist machinations of Iran, Syria, Hamas and Hezbollah are partly to blame. But so is an American administration that thought it could transform the Middle East overnight, using regime change in Iraq to jump start rapid democratization throughout the region.

Instead, Washington's ideological hubris and practical incompetence have succeeded only in setting the region ablaze, awakening extremist and militant voices.

The toppling of Saddam Hussein was intended to send shock waves across the Arab world, intimidating the region's brittle tyrannies while encouraging the spontaneous civic movements that have brought democracy to much of post-Communist Europe. In Iraq itself, democrats were to replace a brutal autocrat, providing a model for the region.

Precisely the opposite has happened.

[Spazito]

1. Excellent article! Thanks for posting! It is a MUST READ, imo!

The facts and the consequences of what has been wrought by the bush cabal is laid out in concise, clear language.

Recommended!

[theHandpuppet]

2. Agreed! Thanks for posting this.

A K&R for this one!

[boston bean]

3. Excellent article, must read! nt KR

[annabanana]

4. good read

Concise and to the point

k&r

[TahitiNut]

5. Spot on! Coherent, succinct, and dead nuts on target.

We're an outlaw nation destabilizing one of the key regions of the world - it can only lead to massive death and destruction, possibly global.

[go west young man]

6. Definently a good read.

Thanks!

[IndyBob]

7. The harvest is ugly

<sarcasm on>
Just stay the course, you can't expect utopia to magically appear overnight, it takes time.
<sarcasm off>

Watching Bushchimp McFuck stumble his way from one disaster to the next is disgusting, and increasingly scary. With previous republican presidents, we would bitch and moan about some or most of the policies, but you felt we've survived this before, life will go on. The Chimpster has that unique combination of puffed up self importance and a hypocritical holier than thou attitude - combined with an awesome amount of ignorance and incompetence. A truly scary man to have in charge of the nation. He makes Nixon look good.

[Nikki Stone 1]

8. And it was so predictable

What a mess. This is what happens when frat boys are in charge of foreign policy.

[madokie]

12. a frat boy who didn't even know there was a whole world out there

[Strelnikov_]

9. "Since The Inception Of Israel In 1948 . .

every decade has been plagued by an Arab-Israeli war - except the 1990s."

The Bush administration has done no better on the Palestinian-Israeli front. Preoccupied with Iraq, Washington has effectively disengaged from the peace process. The Bush team not only abandoned Bill Clinton's diplomatic efforts, but also derided them as naïve and ineffectual. But for all its faults, Clinton's diplomacy sustained a process of reconciliation that kept an uneasy peace. Since the inception of Israel in 1948, every decade has been plagued by an Arab-Israeli war - except the 1990s.


One could substitute 'North Korea' for 'Palestinian-Israeli'. The Chimp Administration one size fits all approach to foreign policy.

[malaise]

10. Reagan did the same with Carter's policies n/t

[tabasco]

11. I don't agree with the premise of the article.

The invasion of Iraq was not intended to spread democracy in the ME.

Only a loon would believe that scenario.

The Iraq invasion was/is intended to control the Iraqi oil and enrich the corporate cabal's supporters.

"Spreading democracy" was the prepared cover story because the Bush cabal knew there were no WMD in Iraq.

[malaise]

13. Valid point

it was the classic (neo)con job.