Double dare Bush to be really different
Reader comment on item: In the Mideast, Bush dared to be different

Submitted by Cary Lichtman (United States), Oct 28, 2004 at 17:12

Great article Dan.

The Bush administration seems to be in a very contradictory position on Terrorism and the Middle East. On the one hand it wants to defeat terrorists and punish or destroy regimes that support them in a proactive manner and promote democracy. Very admirable goals ! On the other hand, it wants the world and the US electorate to approve and support such methods to acheive those goals even if the methods tend to isolate us in the world and stir up more anger towards the US among the Arab street. Hmm......?

Anyone can see this can't work so why doesn't the administration see that, admit mistakes have been made and try alternate tacks ? Could it be that it does not play well in an election year or is it just the nature of the administration ? Who knows ?

It is clear though that although Afghanistan appears to be a good call, Iraq definitely was not. Afghanistan is not without major problems either. If we don't continue to have a major presence there for many years it will surely slip right back into the chaos it has known for centuries.

Iraq is a growing quagmire whch will continue to serve as a recruiting event for Terrorists worldwide to strike at the U.S. while costing us untold $ and lives, both theirs and ours. We could probably, with a fraction of the cost of maintaining a losing cause in Iraq, develop alternate energy sources at home and defeat Terror cells around the world and acheive greater independence and safety as a result.

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