When George Bush first talk of promoting democracy in the Arab world, it seemed like another neo-con justification for intervention, as hypocritical as talk of "human rights" in the erstwhile communist countries. But, after reading Bush's memoirs and seeing the tumult in the Arab world, I am having to change my views. It does appear that the basic conviction underlying Bush's decision to intervene in Afghanistan and Iraq is being borne out, namely, that only the creation of democracies in the region would be in America's long-term interest. More on this in my ET column.
It is interesting that Obama has intervened decisively in favour of popular sentiment in both Tunisia and Egypt and so has Western Europe. I am not very sure of the situation developing in Libya, though, whether it reflects majority sentiment or a minority revolt that the west wants to shore up for its own reasons.
Bush's memoirs reveal a president more thoughtful than made out to be in the media, a man capable of thinking for himself and willing, on more than one occasion, to overrule his advisors. His questioning of his military advisors is interesting. In various situations, he does not get into the details of military planning but asks questions that a leader should and that military men don't necessarily worry about.
The book ends with Bush walking his dog around near his home and having to clean up after him- not what you would expect the typical hot-shot politician in India to do.
5 comments:
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You maintain a frequently updated blog with good content. However you need to lood at design aspect. Right now, it is too too dull.
All the best.
aTea Party isn’t anti-war, its anti-spending, and the reason its been so effective as a political movement is because of this narrow focus. Unless and until Operation “Get Gadaffi” turns into a money pit, don’t see it become a political issue for the Tea-party.
To call this 'war' 'stupid' is a very poor choice of words. No matter what side of the issue you're on you should at least agree the situation is more complicate¬d than that. Obama made a terrible decision that will cost him the presidency¬.
I believe that most of these memoirs are ghost-written.Therefore, it may not be apt to judge a leader by his memoirs.
As someone who has from time to time read and found your posts enlightening, this one comes as a shock. "Give Bush credit" indeed! The entire article is so full of shoddy reasoning, wrapped in false premises, inside a convoluted conundrum that one is left breathless. You've certainly cured me of visiting your blog....and yes, if you think democracy was the objective of Bush, and if democracy is in the long-term interests of people like Bush, and if you think the US is responsible for the upsurge in democracy....well, then I have a bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you.
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