Not only is the man several light years away from what a diplomat should be, he has also proven to most sane Americans that he is indeed on a “crusade” – to ruin their reputation abroad. I received the following interesting bit of information in an e-mail from my friend Yoda. This was taken from Time.com, published under “The Five Key Mistakes of Bush’s Middle East Policy”. I do not know the exact date of it:
1. Bush ignored the Palestinians.
Up until the week that Bill Clinton left office in January 2001,
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were still trying to work out an
ambitious end-of-conflict agreement. True, Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat had unleashed an intifadeh, and the Israelis were on the verge
of electing Ariel Sharon — an avowed enemy of the Oslo peace process —
as prime minister, but the two sides were still talking. When Bush
became president, he ended crucial American mediation, repudiated
Arafat and backed Sharon, who proceeded to expand Israeli settlements
in the occupied West Bank. With the conflict becoming bloodier than
ever, Arafat died, and Hamas, the fundamentalist party that adamantly
refuses to even recognize Israel, much less negotiate with it, ousted
the late Palestinian leader’s party from power. Besides angering Arab
opinion, the lack of an Arab-Israeli peace process that would also
address Israel’s occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights has encouraged
mischief-making by Damascus, which is suspected of aiding anti-U.S.
insurgents in Iraq and committing political assassinations in Lebanon.2. Bush invaded Iraq.
After 9/11, Bush became convinced that Saddam Hussein was seeking
nuclear weapons and represented a mortal threat to the West. He also
came to believe that ousting Saddam would turn Iraq into a democracy
that would become the model for the rest of the Arab world. Saddam
turned out not to have nuclear weapons, and Iraq turned out to be more
prone to civil war than democracy. It runs the risk of becoming a
failed state from which terrorists run global operations, and/or
breaking into ethnic mini-states that inspire secessionist trouble
throughout the region.3. Bush misjudged Iran.
Just after Bush became president, Iranians reelected moderate
President Mohammed Khatami, who had reached out to the U.S. and called
for a “dialogue of civilizations.” Bush not only refused to extend the
olive branch cautiously offered by the Clinton Administration, he
declared Iran part of an “axis of evil.” Khatami left office under
fire for the failure of his conciliatory approach, to be replaced by
hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who proceeded to promote
Iran’s nuclear ambitions and call for Israel to be wiped off the map.
Despite Bush’s tough talk against Iran, the Iraq war has dramatically
expanded Iran’s influence in the country. To make matters worse,
Iran’s Lebanese ally, Hizballah, withstood Israel’s month-long
onslaught last summer and is poised to topple the U.S.-backed Lebanese
government.4. Bush hurt Israel.
If protecting Israel had been a key goal of the Administration’s
policies, it is hard to see how they have helped make the Jewish State
better off today. Having gotten rid of Arafat, they have instead to
face Hamas. And continuous rocket attacks from Gaza have highlighted
the limits of what Israel can achieve through its plans to
unilaterally redraw its borders. The confrontation in Lebanon over the
summer and the messy engagement in Gaza also highlight the limits on
the deterrent capacity of Israel’s military advantages. Spreading
instability in the region is not in Israel’s long-term interests; nor
is a nuclear Iran.5. Bush alienated Muslims.
It was an honest misstep, but the problem began when Bush promised to
wage a “crusade” against al-Qaeda after September 11, effectively
equating his war on terrorism with an earlier Christian invasion of
the Middle East that remains etched in the collective memory of
Muslims. Since then, the Bush Administration’s involvement in or
perceived support of military campaigns against Iraqis, Palestinians
and Lebanese heightened Muslim anger at the U.S. and undermined the
political position of moderate, pro-American Arabs, including old U.S.
allies like Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah of
Saudi Arabia — and, of course, King Abdullah II of Jordan, the host of
Bush’s Middle East visit this week.
I am much less than thrilled to receive Bush Jr. in Amman. Some argue that this step is an admission of some sort that his administration’s policies in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East have not been successful and that, as such, this trip should be celebrated. Well think again, “I say not unto thee, ‘Until seven times; but until seventy times seven.’ “
Since he’s in the vicinity, why doesn’t he pop up in Abu Ghraib and see how the torture dogs are doing?
What I dislike the most about this visit are the heightened security measures. Scaring people out of their wits by stationing police and helmet-wearing, machine-gun-bearing army people all over Amman is not a healthy sign. Maybe Jordanians and the American Embassy alike could learn something from James Bond and work undercover for once and not make all this uncalled-for fuss. It’s irritating and it certainly is not stylish anymore.
Honestly though, who would be bothered to check if the person in that 74′ Toyota at the traffic light is George W. Bush?
I had intended for this post to have more “weight” but because I am a good girl I will take my parents’ advice and not post anything too “out there”. I will keep the explosives for my research papers, where I know who my audience is.
P.S: The other day I was browsing bumper sticker designs and one read: “Clinton screwed an intern. Bush screwed us all.”
