So, here we are, a couple of days after Veteran's Day.
And our former leader, George W. Bush, has a new book out that he is promoting about his father, who himself was a former president. To that end, he has been conducting interviews, and naturally, discussion about his own time in office. Not surprisingly, the Iraq war, which essentially came to dominate his presidency, was mentioned, and President George W. Bush was asked if he had any regrets about the war.
He answered that he had one regret.
Not more than that. Only one.
Huh.
So, what was his regret? Shamelessly using a national tragedy in order to promote an inexcusable invasion of a sovereign nation on false premises? The transparent corporate enrichment that played such a prominent and visible part of the war? Utilizing the invasion, and the tragedy that came before it, to trample on the civil liberties of Americans? Not finding WMD's? The arrogance with which the whole invasion was conducted? Announcing an end to hostilities very prematurely, with a huge banner reading "MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!" behind him, while the most fierce fighting was just about to begin? The thousands of Americans killed, and the many more that were injured? The estimated hundred plus thousand Iraqis that were killed, and so many more injured? The fact that the war dragged on and on and on, well beyond the quick and decisive projections of Bush and members of his administration?
Nope. None of that bothers him. All of that was perfectly fine.
The problem that he has with it is that a violent group (that would be the Islamic State) has risen up and taken over big chunks of the country, and is threatening to take more.
Of course, the invasion itself helped contribute greatly to the level of instability that created conditions that made it ripe for such a group to take over in the first place. Some who opposed the war had suggested that something like this could happen. After all, any student of history who knows even a little bit about such matters - particularly now in the Middle East - knows that this has been the trend for quite a few countries. But the former president made no mention of that.
Nope. He still is the war president. War is on his mind all of the time. The answer to a violent group that rose up because of the instability of war is yet more war. We should go into debt even further to fund a perennial war with absolutely no exit strategy, because the invasion that they pushed so aggressively was not well thought out to begin with.
Well, as the conservative icon, Ronald Reagan, used to say, "There he goes again."
If there is one thing that I think is clear, it is that George W. Bush has lost all credibility on the matter of Iraq. He had years to get it right, and could have done the right thing by simply not going to war there in the first place. The Islamic State is at least in part his fault, whether or not he is willing to admit it.
Until he acknowledges that many, many mistakes were made in Iraq, that, in fact, the whole damn war was a huge mistake, Bush is showing that he has learned absolutely nothing with his experiences in the Oval Office. To me, that means that he has absolutely no credibility left, if he ever had any to begin with.
I opened this article and, admittedly, was skeptical before opening it. After reading it, I wanted to write about it, simply to mention what I think we should do with it. Take note that he has learned absolutely nothing, store it away for future reference (perhaps, say, when another member of the Bush clan, Sir Jeb, is mounting his campaign in 2016), and forget about any contributions that he has when it comes to foreign policy. His entire administration was a huge, embarrassing failure, far worse even than Obama's has been, and that will be his lasting legacy. The fact that he still tries to convince people otherwise means that he has the same mindset that he did while in office, as we watched him bumble his way through one mismanaged catastrophe after another.
No matter how bad President Obama is, we always can take solace that he can only rank so low on the ratings of all-time presidents, and that the man who preceded him will always be even worse. He took over (not elected, but appointed by friends) when the country was in relatively good condition. He predicted a recession, and it proved a self-fulfilling prophecy. After receiving numerous warnings, he presided over the biggest national security failure in history. There were numerous corporate scandals and controversies tangled to his administration, and the emphasis on secrecy was unparalleled, which is not a good thing. We fought two wars and spent a fortune while he made a point of giving tax cuts to the wealthiest Americans. He conducted himself with such a measure of arrogance before the world, that America's relatively good name before he came to office was dragged through the mud. He failed to help his people after an enormous natural disaster. The economy never fully got out of the doldrums while he was in office, and this was particularly true to the vast majority of Americans who were not wealthy, and saw their real wages decrease. The nation became more polarized, and economic disparities between the wealthiest and the poorest became more glaring than ever before. He inherited a budget surplus, but created a record deficit with his economic policies, and because of his insistence of fighting wars while reducing taxes (particularly for the rich) the national debt grew like crazy.
By way of comparison, Obama's mediocrity seems almost a refreshing change. That was how low Bush set the bar, and we better remember that when he gives us reason to. He has learned nothing from his time in office.
But with all that we have seen during and since, let us not make the same mistake!
What is George W. Bush's only regret over invading Iraq? By Husna Haq
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/Decoder-Buzz/2014/1110/What-is-George-W.-Bush-s-only-regret-over-invading-Iraq
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