Post Submitted By Ken Taylor at The Liberals Lie, The Conservative Truth
Eight years have passed bringing us to the final full week of the administration of George Walker Bush, the forty third President of The United States. A few weeks back I posted about the legacy of President Bush so this will not be about what he will leave behind but a personal story of gratitude for what he has done for our Nation as he has led this country through some of the most historic and troublesome times in our Nations history.
President Bush is a good, honest and principled man who has been the target of the most vicious attacks by the media and the left of any sitting President in our history. He has been vilified and demonized by so many that it is no wonder that he leaves office with low approval ratings because this attempted destruction has been the goal of the left and much of the media since the 2000 election.
As a result the true accomplishments of President Bush will take the calming nature of time to show just how much this President has done and how he has protected this Nation during a time in which a lesser leader would have sat back an allowed events to control him rather than being proactive taking the initiative to act as his conscience dictated.
As a conservative there were times during his Presidency that I was somewhat aggravated with President Bush. I have found disagreement with some of his spending policies especially when he compromised and teamed up with the likes of Ted Kennedy and others who used his nature to ,"reach across the isle," as an opportunity to take advantage of him and create entitlements that have done more harm than good.
While President Bush reached across the isle, those who grasped his hand in a non-partisan gesture, stabbed him in the back after they got what they wanted. I also found frustration as he refused so many times to take the offensive when he was attacked and seldom took his case to the American people which allowed the left and the media to have a field day in condemnation and vilification even when his actions proved right and succeeded.
But the true nature of this good man also prevailed as his love for this country, his belief in the cause of liberty and his dedicated steadfastness in fulfilling his oath of office to, "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution, " drove him to action and principled resolve in protecting this Nation in the wake of 9/11.
And defend and protect is exactly what he has done which will be his greatest accomplishment as President as he not only prevented another attack in keeping American safe after 9/11, but took the fight to the enemy with such strength and resolve to this Islamic foe whose cowardice kills innocent people. President Bush recognized this evil and went after it with an assured vengeance that has kept them running and decapitated their ability for more than seven years.
He understood that this enemy would not yield to negotiations or pacification but that the only course was action through strength in defeating this evil enemy. His faith in the tremendous ability and dedication of our brave men and women in uniform and his caring leadership as Commander in Chief has protected this Nation and brought freedom to thousands who had known nothing but oppression in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
It has been comforting to me to know that each night that I lay down on my pillow that because of the principled dedication of President Bush and the sacrifice and equal dedication of the troops that he led as Commander in Chief protected this Nation from harm and that while he and the heroes he led and served were on watch nothing or no one would again attack us.
Yet I also knew that this relentless enemy continued to seek opportunity too attack America and kill Americans. But President Bush stood fast and with our troops on the front line both he and they said, "not on my watch," and This Nation is better for it. And because of that sincere dedication we owe both President Bush and our troops a debt of gratitude that we can never repay.
Their love for this country and respect for their Commander in Chief has defended our freedom and strengthened the cause of liberty both here and abroad. And while our troops deserve praise for their sacrifice and tremendous accomplishments in defense of our Nation, President Bush deserves like praise in his ability to stand firm when others would have fallen. To hold fast when others would have let go and to continue to fight when his detractors and opposition said to surrender.
His belief in freedom and it being a gift to mankind from God drove him to stand when political opposition and polls would have caused a less principled man to yield to save his popularity. He understood that to lead one does not necessarily remain popular and chose rather to sacrifice that popularity in order to make the decisions and actions needed to protect this Nation.
For this dedication he has been condemned because he refused to yield. His love for this country and his belief in its greatness were far more important than good poll numbers or the praise of the media. History will vindicate him for this dedication and this Nation remains free and strong because of that same dedication.
While the politically correct look forward to January 20 when President Bush will peacefully transfer to his successor the Presidency in one of the greatest traditions of our Republic, this conservative and millions like me will miss him when he leaves office. President Bush deserves our thanks for what he has done and his many accomplishments. He deserves our respect for his principled steadfastness in the face of undue opposition.
Thank you Mr. President for keeping us safe. Thank you Mr. President for putting our country first. Thank you Mr. President for standing true and strong. Thank you Mr. President for your leadership and dedication. Thank you Mr. President for being who you are and for being the right man at the right time for our Nation. Thank you Mr. President !
The New Yellow Star
3 years ago
Posts
28 comments:
He will be missed, especially as Americans face terrorism threats with amateur leadership.
Great post Ken!
Christopher Hamilton
The Right Opinion, for the Right Wing
How "free" is a bankrupt person or country?
How "free" can one claim to be when they have mortgaged their future to other countries?
Is freedom defined by torture, secret courts, domestic evesdropping, suspension of rights, and circumvision of the law?
The contradiction that is representative of conservatives today: While claiming to want smaller government, lower taxes, and more individualism are willing to sacrifice all of it for safety, authoritarianism, and a strong military.
As Ben Franklin said "those who are willing to sacrifice essential freedom for security deserve neither."
Do not sleep to securely, Osama Bin Laden is still free, Iran is still a growing threat as is North Korea, Pakistan and Afghanistan are still breeding terrorists, and the middle east is still a mess...oh, and Russia is still up to its old tricks...
Nothing has changed after eight years. This is a failed Presidency and no one should find comfort in that.
He has been vilified and demonized by so many that it is no wonder that he leaves office with low approval ratings because this attempted destruction has been the goal of the left and much of the media since the 2000 election.
Bush's policies have been vilified by many of us because we found them morally, ethically and fiscally reprehensible. What would you have us do? You yourself just criticized some of his policies, were you wrong to do so? Are you a "Bush-basher" suffering from BDS if you disagree with his policies?
It seems to me we have an obligation as citizens to disagree with our leaders when we think they're wrong - and an obligation to STRONGLY and loudly disagree when we think they're vastly wrong.
We have done so.
That is as it should be, don't you think?
Dan, I agree completely that it is not only our responsibility as Americans but our duty as citizens to oppose those things that we see as wrong , especially when those we have entrusted to lead are doing what we beleive is wrong for the Nation.
That is what makes our Nation great. The Constitutional responsibilty that we have to hold those accountable to us who we elect to office to serve our Nation and her people.
I have been a staunch critic of President Bush on immigration, entitlements, spending and the bailouts.
But I also know that he has protected this Nation when a lesser man would have yielded.
I have had my misgivings with him but also respect what he has done for our country and how he has stood strong in defense of this Nation and the cause of liberty.
I also beleive that he was vilified by the press and the left far more than any other President which greatly assisted in creating a picture of his Presidency that history will prove to be not true.
History will vindicate much of what he has accomplished and also call him on those failures that has agrivated many conservatives including myself.
But he is a good, honest and principled man who saw an enemy whose only goal was to kill Americans and destroy our country. To that he said, "not on my watch," and this country and the world is better for it.
He has also left a legacy of good Supreme Court appointments that will be with us for many years.
All is all he has accomplished more than he has failed He recognizes his mistakes and has tried to correct some of them.
While I do not beleive he will be in the upper tier of Presidents, the calmness of time will eventually place him in the top 10 to 15 especially in light of his handling of the aftermath of 9/11.
"How "free" is a bankrupt person or country"
It's an interesting question, because I have never once considered my freedom with how much money I have. It's a good thing too, cause a lot of people including me wouldn't be free. My freedom rests on being allowed to be me. I'm not told how many children to have, what kind of job I have to do, when or where I can show my face or body, who I can pray to, or how to educate my children. I am free to be whoever and whatever I want to be. I am free to walk to the neighborhood market without fearing of a suicide bomber coming and blowing me up. We may be a bankrupt country, but truthfully is there anywhere else you would rather live? Any country where you would be better off. In truth, that is probably our greatest freedom, to leave if we so choose and please don't think there was any sarcasm intended there at all.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yes, there are many things that Bush has done that I didn't particularly agree with, and the buyout was one of them. Most people think it was an idiotic move and are quite vocal in expressing it...conservative or liberal.
"That is as it should be, don't you think?"
I couldn't agree more Dan, it is our right and our duty to disagree when we think our president is being a schmuck! I have a feeling we conservatives are going to be doing that a lot in the years to come. What I find reprehensible and frankly out of line is the disrespect shown the president. I am not talking about disagreeing or fighting against something you do or do not believe in. I am talking about the name calling and the childish jokes, and the outright disrespect shown him. People (being very political correct with this statement) have torn him to shreds and then they wonder why other countries do not respect the United States.
"Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas."
This comment from Natalie Maines is a prime example of what I am talking about. That is beyond disrespect in my opinion.
I do not like Obama, I did not vote for him and I don't like most of his policies, BUT as of January 20th he will be my president and I will give him the respect and support he deserves. I don't think it too much to ask that as president, that George Bush deserved the same thing. He did not receive it, and for that people should be ashamed. He kept us free and safe and that may not be important to some, but it is to me. Frankly, I am thankful that I can take my kids anywhere without having to worry if a terrorist is going to blow them up. Freedom means many things to different people, but security is very important in my eyes. What good is being rich if you can't leave your house because you are afraid of being killed. I am not saying it is wrong to prefer monetary security to personal safety, but my opinion may be very different from others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Do not sleep to securely, Osama Bin Laden is still free, Iran is still a growing threat as is North Korea, Pakistan and Afghanistan are still breeding terrorists, and the middle east is still a mess...oh, and Russia is still up to its old tricks..."
Has there ever been a time that we have been free from other countries' threats. Years ago, it was Germany and Japan, and Russia. The names may change but there will always be a threat to our country. Can you name one president that when they left office, there were no threats from other countries? If Clinton had done his job, we would not even be discussing Bin Laden.
George Bush will not go down as the best president ever, nor should he. He made difficult decisions facing the worst tragedy in United States History and has kept terrorism out of the U.S. since. He made them out of love for the country and it's people, and the least you can do is show him the respect he deserves.
While I do not believe he will be in the upper tier of Presidents, the calmness of time will eventually place him in the top 10 to 15
Time will tell. I rather expect he'll continue to be assessed in the bottom ten, probably among the three worst. Touch base with me in 50 years and we'll compare notes.
I also believe that he was vilified by the press and the left far more than any other President...
Possibly, with Bill Clinton being vilified probably about second most.
The difference is that with Bush, he has been vilified by the Left because we think his policies are so God-awful disgustingly immoral and horrible, whereas with Clinton (whom I don't like), it was more of a personality thing.
This comment from Natalie Maines is a prime example of what I am talking about. That is beyond disrespect in my opinion.
Why? If you think that a president is making some of the worst, most immoral, ungodly, unethical and poorly reasoned decisions in a century or more, why would we NOT say that we are ashamed of his behavior? That's what I'm not getting.
It's not personal, at least not for me, nor many of my compatriots. We think his policies are at least near-criminal, if not criminal. We think they were leading to the destruction of the US. We think his policies undermine great American values. We ARE ashamed by his invasion of Iraq. We ARE ashamed about his corporate welfare support. We ARE disgusted by his treatment of the environment and critical economic/environmental issues.
If this is the case, why is it wrong for us to SAY it?
Was it wrong for people on the Right (and Left) to say that they were ashamed of Clinton's behavior with Lewinsky? I certainly was, it was reprehensible behavior. So, if we can say it about Clinton's mere sexual pecadillos (which were bad) why can't we say that about invading a nation unprovoked (which is worse)? Why can't we say it about corporate toadyism (which is worse)?
Jennifer,
You are never free as long as you are in debt. Now that China is the largest owner of US treasury bonds there is no doubt that that will effect how we deal with them. What can the European Countries do with Russia when Russia supplies them with 75% of their Natural Gas? How much of our middle east foreign policy is determined by our need for Saudi Oil? Why doesn't Europe follow us in regards to Iran? Its because Iran produces a different oil than the Saudi's do and the Europeans refineries need Iranian oil.
Israel asked us for persmission to bomb Iran...and we did not give it. So, Israel's foreign policy was influenced by their dependence on us. It was actually in Israel's best interest, long term, to attack Iran's nuke facilities but they could not act in their own best interests because of their dependence on the United States.
You are not free if you work for someone else and have to work because you have debt.
Are there other places I would like to live? Sure, I could name 10 places off the top of my head. I realize that since I have lived 30% of my life overseas I do have a different perspective than most people about what a 'great' country the USA is. But, nonetheless, I was born an American and this is MY country and I am loyal to my country.
Has the current government debt and the current financial crisis hurt our country? Has it limited our security? Has it made us weaker? Yes it has.
9/11 DID happen on Bush's watch. If you are going to use the "not on my watch" crap as a defense then 9/11 was his fault because it was his watch.
The truth of the matter is that you WANT to believe that you were safer under Bush because you see him as more militaristic and that is comforting to you just as you see liberals as anti-military and discomforting to you. Reality is there were less terror attacks under Clinton than under Bush and if you follow the "not under my watch" and if you believe we are this superpower then factually we were 'safer' under Clinton.
As far as the media goes lets not be so blinded by our politics that we cannot acknowledge that Fox News, Ann Coulter, and a whole bunch of conservative bloggers and column writers have been most rabid in their attacks of Obama, Clinton, and Liberals to a much greater extreme than anything from mainstream media.
We will never really know what Clinton would have done had he not had to deal with all the issues stirred up for no other reasons than to win political gain by the Republicans. Since he was never impeached and since Whitewater produced no guilty pleas they were nothing more than political tactics on the part of the Republicans that did nothing but kept Clinton from acting and in turn may have hurt this country; but it is not about country first anymore as much as it is political party first.
The reason there are no true conservative leadership in this country is because it will not get you elected. What most people who claim to be conservatives want is a big military and low taxes. They want the government to stay out of their lives but they do not care if the government gets involved in the lives of others. They don't anyone to tell them how to spend their money but they have no qualms spending the money of future generations. They want to be the voice for unborn fetuses in regards to life but not in regards to government spending. They actually believe that smaller government will only effect poor people and liberals but will not effect the government services they cherish, like their military.
The only real difference between those who call themselves conservatives and those who call themsleves liberals is the fact that conservatives want "GUNS" and liberals want "BUTTER" its just the old argument of guns vs butter.
Conservatives will claim that without a strong defense nothing else matters and Liberals will claim that without anything to defend who needs a military.
"You are never free as long as you are in debt."
"You are not free if you work for someone else and have to work because you have debt."
We have very different viewpoints on what "freedom" is! I've already written on what my personal feelings about it so I am not going to go through it all again. I am not saying you are wrong, and that I am right, but we are just different. My views of freedom don't relate to money or debt while yours most definitely do.
"The truth of the matter is that you WANT to believe that you were safer under Bush because you see him as more militaristic and that is comforting to you just as you see liberals as anti-military and discomforting to you."
Safer under Bush than who. I always find it humorous when other people try and tell me what I want or believe. I did not mention one word about liberals and yet you come here time and again, to tell us "conservatives" what we want or feel. Your generalizations are getting old. We started this site because we needed to come together to find a common goal and try and change the GOP. We've done post after post trying to discuss our mission and purpose, and you continually come here and leave comments like this....
"The reason there are no true conservative leadership in this country is because it will not get you elected. What most people who claim to be conservatives want is a big military and low taxes. They want the government to stay out of their lives but they do not care if the government gets involved in the lives of others. They don't anyone to tell them how to spend their money but they have no qualms spending the money of future generations. They want to be the voice for unborn fetuses in regards to life but not in regards to government spending. They actually believe that smaller government will only effect poor people and liberals but will not effect the government services they cherish, like their military."
"9/11 DID happen on Bush's watch. If you are going to use the "not on my watch" crap as a defense then 9/11 was his fault because it was his watch."
I didn't claim the man should get a noble peace prize, I simply said that he did a good job of keeping us safe....and he did. Under the circumstances, I thought he handled 9-11 well. To even suggest that 9-11 was his fault.....I'm not even going to go there!
Tao, I don't know how many times I have let your statements about how true conservatism would lead to a decrease in the size and abilities of the military. The mantra of smaller government does not mean to reduce government across the board. Conservatism is the belief in a free market and in the power of the states and the individual. It has nothing to do with the size of the military.
The comparison to the "number" of terror attacks under Clinton and the number under Bush is disingenuous and you know it. First, the WTC were attacked one time each under Clinton and Bush. Those were the ONLY terror attacks on US soil. The second WTC attack was successfult because of the refusal of the Clinton administration to abandon the concept of terrorism as a law enforcement problem. That is only mmild criticism on my part, just for the record. Other then Reagan, this was the policy of every American administration until George Bush. Secondly, it is inappropriate to look at the number of attacks alone. One of the best measures is to look at the strength of the organizations themselves. Al-Qaeda was strongest in 2001 and through about 2005. When did this buildup take place? The Clinton administration. Again, only mild criticism. Thirdly, the "number" of attacks under Bush is greatly skewed because of the number of insurgent attacks that are counted in this number. This is as close to comparing apples with tractor axles as it gets.
Terrorism is nto a simple problem, as most people seem to believe. It requires a multi-faceted approach of law enforcement, intelligence, covert ops, military intervention, diplomacy, and a social service structure. Probably the best methodology for fighting terrorism can be found in the methodology that lead to the success of Hamas...were we to structure our fight against it in the way that they structured the organization to become a political and social power, we would have great success...
I am free. I am free to get into debt and I am free to work my way out of it. Despite the negativity, although I agree with the issues regarding the financial mess we are in, we are free to do as we wish. I sleep not in fear, I walk with no trepidation, I travel at my leisure. I laugh and love and work and play. I do not dodge mortar rounds or drink from brown water rivers. Part of freedom is the right to make mistakes, and sometimes what one views as a mistake is not one to someone else.
President Bush will be in the top 10-15 in 50-100 years. Poli-Sci people may remember the particular recession and the monetary mistakes, but there has been a change int he policies of the United States that if continued, will keep us safer in years to come that we have ever been. Some of those policies are correcting mistakes made by previous Presidents - Reagan, Bush, Carter, and Clinton included. Some of them are simply new approaches to a thousand year problem. History will look kindly on President Bush.
My prayers, and best wishes, to a man that I admire and with whom I would gladly share a foxhole.
President Bush is a good, honest and principled man who has been the target of the most vicious attacks by the media and the left of any sitting President in our history. He has been vilified and demonized by so many that it is no wonder that he leaves office with low approval ratings because this attempted destruction has been the goal of the left and much of the media since the 2000 election.
The funny part of this is after they spent so much time destroying him, they then whined about how he wasn't respected around the world.
I don't recall anyone whining. We observed, rightly, that Bush's policies have diminished US security and authority around the world.
You are right Jennifer, I criticize conservatives ALOT more than I do Liberals...and you want to know why? Its because true conservative convictions in every aspect of your life is the way to make one successful and to make ones country strong.
If you believe that an individual is responsible for his own well being and shouldn't depend on another entity, like government for support then you also have to see that selling government debt to foreign nations as not a whole lot different than an individual depending on another entity for support.
If you believe that individuals are responsible for the decisions that they make in their lives and are obiligated for the decisions that they make then you also have to agree that society, as nothing more than a sum of individuals is responsible for the decisions its makes. We cannot clamor for lower taxes and less government and continue to have a government spend money it does not have. Within a year interest on treasury bonds could be more than what we budget for defense. Our government has made promises to our vets, our workers, and our elderly and I believe we are obiligated to keep our word. But if interest payments go any higher our ability to keep the promises we made will not be possible.
If you believe that one of the primary purposes of government is to ensure the defense and security of this country then you also have to acknowledge that this is not only a military or law enforcement issue but also one of maintaining our infrastructure, our food supply, our product safety, and our business dealings.
If you believe that we have some fundamental rights that the government cannot interfere with then you have to have issue with secret courts, torture, domestic spying and so on and so forth. Just because you believe that the logic is sound as to why it has been done recently you must also acknowledge that it sets a precedent and the next time it might be you.
We have a long history of spying on domestic groups and not because they were a threat to the United States but rather because they were a perceived threat to an institution or political group.
We believe that we have a fundamental right to act unilaterally to protect our national security anywhere in the world but then Robert wants to paint me as disengeous when he cloaks his argument in the concept of "US SOIL" if you believe that you are justified to take the battle to anywhere in the world then you are obiligated to accept responsiblity for the terrorist attacks that occur anywhere in the world. Robert, there have been more terrorists attacks around the world under Bush's watch.
I do not believe that big government is the only threat to our individual freedoms...big business, big religion, anything that is BIG is going to be corrupting and controlling. What is true of government and as government is an organization of individuals then and big organization of individuals can be corrupting.
It is fine to claim that you are FREE to get into debt but that does not answer the question of if your freedoms are diminished once one incurs a debt or an obiligation. You cannot argue that our need for oil does not effect our foreign policy decisions anymore than you can argue that with China holding treasury bonds does not affect the decisions we make when confronted.
You cannot sit there and go on and on about Saddam being a dictator when in fact the middle east is full of dictators and most of them are our allies.
George Bush was right when he noted that we are horrible at nation building...we are.
To sit here and argue that we can act militarily anywhere we want to for our own self interests is disengeous when you realize that we have done nothing to protect our own borders.
To sit here and argue that we have a right to detain those who represent a threat to our country and then to do nothing about illegal immigration is disengeous.
To sit here and claim that while you disagree with Bush on just about everything but you believe he will go down as one of the top 10 or 15 Presidents in the history of the is country or to claim that you would share a foxhole with the man really says that you are not truthfully a conservative but rather a militarist.
To desire smaller less intrusive government, and a return to principles and values and then to still claim to support the Republicans as your party after the last eight years is beyond comprehension.
I do hope that Barack Obama can get this big ol' hulk of a nation back on a firmer foundation than what it is on now. I really believe that we could see unemployment at around 20% within the next 18 months and believe me that is the greatest threat that this nation has ever faced.
Then with the issue of baby boomers coming to the stark realization that they cannot retire as they planned that is going to be a big huge issue in the near future.
Its called diminishing expectations and if you think about it that is going to be a tragic transformation for this nation. You can worry about terrorists all you want but I fear my fellow citizens when they realize that everything they believed in and worked for all their lives was not going to be realized. When they become a majority then we will have reached to point of no return.
I lived in Paris for four years and Munich for one yr....the New York Times wholly-owned Int'l Herald Tribune did NOTHING but insult and bash every decision this president made.
And called him names, quoted our own Dem senators and their insults, and it's our LEFT that insists Europeans HATE US and wonders why....which is not true, by the way.
The Europeans are insulted that America has the guts to do what they don't. Always have been. And I've talked to many from all over the world in French and German classes...what an eye opener.
This president is too good a man to have seen the real evil in Putin, for example. That, I 'fault' him for because it's dangerous.
He did see the evil in Saddam and the evil of allowing American soil to be the setting for yet another 9/11 and he "put up our dukes" higher than ANY Democrat will in the future, I think we'd all agree with that....which is positively frightening.
Another blogger has a discussion of OBSESSION at her site..she's just seen it.....There is a leftist who always frequents my blog telling us all at Pinky's place that the film is an exaggeration of the Islamist threat. You can't make up this naive thinking! And we have a president who just might think the same.
At least, with Bush, we had a man who can read signs like DEATH TO AMERICA and understand the English!!!!
I disagree with Bush on a lot...I hated the Dubai Ports suggestion...I DETEST his new sharing of nuclear information with the Emirates because they're "our friends" when their better friends are Iran! I disagree with his bail outs, etc...
But, NO ONE should ever take away from him what he's done for our safety...which I fear for on January 21.
Hello to you all.
Robert has been kind enough in the past to welcome my comments on his previous blog. I come here occasionally to read the topics but haven't yet posted any comment.
It is true that history will be the final judge of Bush's legacy, but that shouldn't stop us from assessing it in the here and now. And we should be able to make some judgments on how Bush's policies and decisions have affected people's lives at this moment in time.
Some of you have pointed to the fact that we haven't had a terrorist attack since 9/11 (actually, we had two terrorist attacks--the deadly anthrax letters were a terrorist attack that we Americans always seem to forget) as one of GWB's greatest achievements while in office. But that ignores what has happened in the Middle East since Mr. Bush decided to switch the focus on the GWOT from Afghanistan to Iraq. At this point, no one knows what will happen in Iraq—it still is not a peaceful country, and there still is a potential for more violence and mayhem. Mr. Bush stubbornly kept Donald Rumsfeld on as his SoD, even though Rumsfeld’s policies were failing. It was only after the elections of 2006 when Republicans were “thumped” that Mr. Bush finally came to his senses and got rid of Rumsfeld and began to rethink the combat strategy in Iraq—a strategy that General Shinseki had advocated when it was clear Bush wanted to invade Iraq. Mr. Bush was intractable for all those years as our military tried to fight a war against insurgents with too few troops. We know what happened when Gen. Petraeus took over—the surge worked because more troops were deployed to tamp down the violence all over the country. Mr. Bush is responsible for the lives of the thousands of Iraqis and for the men and women in our military who died and were maimed as a result of his intractability on that issue. There is no honor in being steadfast when that steadfastness leads to unnecessary death and destruction.
That’s just one area where I see Mr. Bush being less than victorious in the GWOT. The other is Afghanistan and the fact that we are still at war there after 7 years. What have we accomplished? Al Qaeda is still in control in many areas and its government is the most corrupt—probably on the planet. I don’t see how any president now will be able to undo the harm that Bush’s poor choices have caused in that part of the world. We have Pakistan and India—two nuclear armed and volatile countries ready to destroy each other, and finally the Middle East, where absolutely no progress has been made in 8 years.
China holds our children’s and grandchildren’s economic future, and Russia has become more, not less, belligerent over the past 8 years.
I pity Obama who must deal with all of these dangerous and potentially disastrous issues, any one of which would be an enormous challenge to the best minds in this country, but taken all together seem Herculean in scope.
And I haven’t even mentioned our domestic economic problems!
Bush will be remebered for one thing in later years. The War on Terror in Iraq and the removal of it's terrorist sponsoring government headed by Sadam Hussein.
Shawe speaking of Afghanistan...its government is the most corrupt—probably on the planet.
With the the prospects of the incoming democrat congress and Obama admin I challenge Shawe's statement.
Sure, we know J_G - "black folk, liberals and Democrats gots no morals. Why, they're practically animals, we can't expect them to not be corrupt..." Is THAT what you're saying?
Current Afghan government more corrupt than Taliban, survey finds
The Associated PressPublished: March 19, 2007
KABUL, Afghanistan: Bribery and corruption are pervasive in Afghanistan's current government, according to a survey released Monday that said most Afghans believe their leaders are more corrupt than the Soviet-backed government in the 1980s or the Taliban-run government in the 1990s.
About 60 percent of respondents said the current administration is more corrupt than any other in the past two decades, said the report by Integrity Watch Afghanistan, an independent group.
"Over the last five years, corruption has soared to levels not seen in previous administrations," it said.
Source: http://tinyurl.com/a9e4nc
And this:
Bush ex-official says corrupt Afghans and a hesitant military hinder drug fight
By Carlotta Gall
Thursday, July 24, 2008
KABUL, Afghanistan: Corrupt Afghan officials, a reluctant military and divisions over policy, as much as the Taliban, have contributed to a failing policy to fight narcotics in Afghanistan, a former Bush administration official writes in an article in The New York Times Magazine on Sunday.
The government of President Hamid Karzai has shielded the cultivation of poppies from American eradication efforts, which the Pentagon and its international partners have not pursued aggressively, according to the author, Thomas Schweich, who was the senior counternarcotics official in the State Department for two years and made several visits to Afghanistan.
The combined failure has turned Afghanistan into a virtual narco-state, he writes in the article, posted online on Wednesday night.
Opium production skyrocketed in Afghanistan in 2006 and '07, making the country the supplier of 90 percent of the world's heroin.
Coming from an insider, the accusations are especially embarrassing to all concerned, but in particular to Karzai, whom Schweich accuses of protecting corrupt senior officials.
Schweich, now a visiting professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, says there is a lack of will within the Afghan government to prosecute corrupt officials who are benefiting from the drug trade for fear of losing their political support.
Narcotics corruption reaches right to the top of the government, and drug traffickers buy off hundreds of police chiefs, judges and other officials around the country, he says.
Source:
http://www.iht.com/bin/printfriendly.php?id=14745522
amen Ken..brace yourself for the next 4 years!!
I have stood back and thought about, exactly what kind of legacy George Bush will have in the future and I cannot help but compare him to Jimmy Carter.
Jimmy Carter did envision our energy future during his term and if you review what he said you would realize how absolutely brillant the guy was.
If you actually study the fall of Soviet Russia you will come to find that Jimmy Carter implemented some interesting programs within the CIA that laid the ground work for Reagan to follow up and take credit for toppling the Soviet Empire.
But while he did show brillance and capactiy in a few areas overall we see his Presidency as a failure and yes, historians are unearthing some very interesting aspects of his Presidency that none of us were aware of.
I am sure that George Bush will end up in the same situation, in 30 years we might come to realize that he was a visionary in certain events and or areas.
But that will not be enough to put him in the top 10 to 15 Presidents of all time.
Thats probably a more realistic perspective.
thank you for keeping us out of the arms of liberalism for a season.
Quiet on this blog of late... (You'd think with the number of possible authors, that wouldn't be the case.)
Have all you conservatives been convicted, or what?
Look forward to reading (& more'n'likely taking issue with) new posts soon...
lationpi
Repsac, you are right that it has been quiet. We haven't been convicted, but had been asked to partake in an honorable activity - that of returning the White House to the condition it was in when President Bush took over from President Clinton...At the moment, we have been asked to take all the "W" off of the keyboards, and you have no idea how many computers are in the Executive branch....
Seriously, we have experienced a decreased operational tempo due to the holidays, and also because of business concerns in real life. Three of the authors are working diligently to keep ships afloat in these economic times, and two of those are literally working 12 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We have a couple of things in the works, so please don't place us on your "has been' list just yet.
Vilified by the press? In my lifetime it's no contest
1.) LBJ in a landslide
2.) Clinton
3.) GWB. A distant third. Mitigated by a cheer leading MSN during the run up to the Iraq invasion.
Cheers!
Ken,
I look forward to the diminution of the "office" of the President. I would like to have a President of little power and little ability to influence fiscal policy. George W. Bush has taught me 2 main things. One, That doing a few good or noble things, while "Bull-in-a-China-Shop"-ing the rest of the conservative agenda to hell is not a redeeming quality. Two, That I pay far too much attention to national politics. The more we feed the beast of Government with attention, the more the beast grows.
This agnostic man prays for a day when an inaugural is as important to us as it was to George Washington at his second inaugural,.... not very.
While President Bush reached across the isle, those who grasped his hand in a non-partisan gesture, stabbed him in the back after they got what they wanted.
Well this should tell you just who we are dealing with!
Post a Comment