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| A great president for these terrible times |
| 2006-09-14 |
Bush understands much better than his critics the war on terror and the way the world works more broadly. Above all, he has had the courage to confront reality. The key planks of the Bush doctrine - regarding terrorists not as criminals but as a force at war with the US and its allies; holding state sponsors of terror responsible for the actions of their terrorist surrogates; seeing the root of terror in the profoundly dysfunctional political culture of the Middle East and fighting the ideas behind terror with an agenda of democracy and human rights; reserving the right to take pre-emptive military action against threats that could involve weapons of mass destruction - all these will be maintained by Bush's presidential successors. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Word, Dave D. To maintain the Bush Doctrine, whomever followed Bush would have to have his courageous vison, titanium skin, and stainless steel balls... And there probably aren't any out there who fill the bill. He's a one-off, forged in (and under) fire - from within and without. Ankle-biters are welcome to dispute this, not that I give a shit. If we survive, we'll talk - in say 2016 or so - and they can complain about the |
| Posted by: flyover 2006-09-14 09:42 |
| #6 One problem here... "...the profoundly dysfunctional political culture..." Unfortunately the political culture is dysfunctional because the social and religious culture on which it is based are equally if not more dysfunctional. While I support Bush &co. and wish them luck on the endeavor to change the Mid East. I doubt it can be done if the religious and social cultures are not also overthrown. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2006-09-14 09:39 |
| #5 "The key planks of the Bush doctrine... will be maintained by Bush's presidential successors." I would be sleeping a LOT better at night if I could believe that. It's a soothing notion, but I think it's wrong: I doubt that any of Bush's possible successors will maintain ANY of the key components of the Bush Doctrine. "regarding terrorists not as criminals but as a force at war with the US and its allies;" The Democrats have been making it very clear lately (such as with their hysterical complaints about ABC's The Path to 9/11) that treating terrorism as a criminal matter-- and ONLY as a criminal matter-- is exactly what they would do; that Bill Clinton "had it right." On the other hand, a Republican successor to Bush might carry on this policy-- but only with great caution, for he will be acutely aware of the enormous political price the Democrats have made Bush pay for taking us to war. "holding state sponsors of terror responsible for the actions of their terrorist surrogates;" Democrats aren't into holding anybody responsible for anything, especially when following through on the "holding" part with anything harsher than whining might deprive them of warm fuzzies from European diplomats and pundits. If Bush is succeeded by a Democrat, this plank goes straight onto the trash heap. A Republican President won't be much better, as he'll be unwilling to take action against any state sponsor of terrorism without truly overwhelming evidence of sponsorship. "seeing the root of terror in the profoundly dysfunctional political culture of the Middle East and fighting the ideas behind terror with an agenda of democracy and human rights;" Any Democrat successor to Bush is going to see the "root cause" of terrorism the way Kofi Annan sees it: as third-world poverty caused by the sins of Western powers. If a Democrat follows Bush in the White House, Americans had best be prepared to open their wallets-- wide. A Republican President might continue with Bush's policy of promoting democracy and freedom, but will be extremely reluctant to use military force. "reserving the right to take pre-emptive military action against threats that could involve weapons of mass destruction." If the next President is a Democrat, this plank goes straight onto the trash heap; pre-emptive military action is absolute anathema to any of today's Democrats. And a Republican, after seeing the unmitigated Hell that Bush has been put through for his pre-emptive action in Iraq, is not going to be much better. All things considered, I think the author's belief that the Bush Doctrine will survive beyond the next two years is extremely optimistic. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2006-09-14 07:42 |
| #4 Bless Fred for all he does. But this entire article needs to be read. 'course, I'm a Bush fan, lookin' for good words about him, from the few that exist. |
| Posted by: Sherry 2006-09-14 02:15 |
| #3 You create your own faith. We can always go back to Israel and discard the chaff. |
| Posted by: newc 2006-09-14 01:42 |
| #2 The DemoLeft will vote against the civil war they helped start or desired, and vice versa. The irony here is these Waffle-crats, etal. premises show why Jesus Christ appeared on earth. From Zawahiri's recent rant to the Chicom plan to politely but necessarily exterminate 200Milyuhn -plus Americans = Amerikans, by these gauges many of America's enemies already view America [West/Demeocracy]as defeated. - not just defeated, but eventually destroyed, the land sowed with salt so that nuthing will grow ever again ala Roman legions at CARTHAGE, Greeks at TROY, Mongols, etc. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2006-09-14 01:36 |
| #1 Looking at the rear bases, US troops are really fighting Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Only one is not a formal US ally. As long as there is harborage, there will be terrorists. This month is make or break for the President. If all that is promised is decades of indecisive war, then the Dems will win with crude disengagement. The Muslim world is polarizing on the side of the Jihadis, while the West is indulging them at home and facing their terror abroad. We have driving steel into the backbones of the worst enemy ever to challenge Western Civilization. Either we have a program for winning - that doesn't include terror legitimation through pseudo-democracy - or we face defeat. |
| Posted by: Snease Shaiting3550 2006-09-14 01:01 |