[Jim Scott]

President Bush was effectively mocked and ridiculed by the leftmedia both here and abroad so many Americans as well as foreigners believed he was inept. His clumsy speaking style didn't help to modify the image. However, as the British Telegraph article indicates, Bush knew how to build a coalition and he did so, including receiving congressional authorization to use military force in Iraq, even though the Democrats who voted for that authorization quickly backpedaled away from it as soon as the war bogged down, falsely claiming that 'Bush lied to us' about Saddam Hussein's WMD that were never found, probably because he sent them to Assad in Syria.

Today, even the Obama worshipers and low information voters are beginning to question Obama's obvious lack of coherence on foreign policy in the middle east. He looks foolish and for liberals, who never tire of telling us how brilliant Obama is, this show of incompetence is making them nervous. Well, that and the fact that a liberal generally hates the U.S. military and considers it little more than a tool of oppression, yada, yada, yada.

Obama will not receive congressional approval to attack Syria and he'll be off the hook he fashioned for himself with his tough talk about how 'Assad must go' and painting 'red lines' in watercolor.

[yldstrk]

some one gave the kids the keys to the ferrari, any surprise they wrecked it?

[Red6]

There is another issue at play that no one mentions.

Would you want to ally yourself with the US, which quit Vietnam, quit Somalia, quit Iraq, quit Lebanon, is now quitting Afghanistan??? Would you want to pin your future to such an ally? Or would you hedge your bets as many Middle Eastern nations are doing? Would you be quick to jump on the American calls for military action, or be highly calculated and weigh the risks carefully?

The US is a nation where opposition politics and a very quick media/press cycle completely driven by controversy, influential social fads/trends (Which the likes of Michael Moore tap into), and a high political turn over with a constant changing strategic vision (there really is no US strategic vision in anything past 2 years that is worth the paper it is written on) drive foreign and security policy. Jump on the boat with the US, and 2 years later you might find yourself in the boat alone. It is ironic that those that played opposition politics under Bush (Obama, Kerry, Hillery, etc) are today singing a very different song.

[TomGuy]

That speech today was even more of an embarrassment.

==

You cross that line, and you’ll be sorry.

How so.

Well, try it and find out.

Okay, we did.

Uhh, I’ll get a coalition together.

Go ahead.

You’ll get yours, maybe today, maybe next week, maybe next month.

Yeah? Bring it on.

[Syria called his bluff and were laughing in the streets by the end of his speech. Of course, Chris Matthews will rate it the greatest bluff speech in the history of bluff speeches.]

[Pining_4_TX]

Funny, I think they are both inept. Bush should have bombed those mountains in Afghanistan flat and left. Iraq never should have happened. Maliki a bigger thug than Saddam.

A pox on both of them for the lives they have shattered and the money wasted.

On the domestic front Bush was better, but he never vetoed any spending (well, maybe once)

I don’t trust any politicians. The only solution to our problems is to cut the size of government and the power these “public servants” have over us.

[Hattie]

Bush was mocked by the Dems in the US but not by the leaders of other countries. Obama is mocked by all but a few of his puppets.

[Jim Noble]

You STILL think he’s trying to be a good President, and look out for the interests of the United States?

So, then, I can see why you think he’s incompetent.

[TBP]

Would that it were only amateurism.

[Verginius Rufus]

I would give Germany a pass for sitting out the 2003 invasion. They had an urgent internal security issue to deal with--tracking down parents who might be homeschooling their children.

Back in 2003, Jed Babin had a line that went something like "going to war without the French is like going hunting without an accordion."

[Rich21IE]

OMG!

From the Telegraph!

All I can say is OMG. This is utterly stunning.

I nominate this as the best article find/posting of the year.

[Cindy]

Article Title:

“Barack Obama is proving an embarrassing amateur on the world stage compared to George W. Bush”

The title is factually incorrect.

Obama proved he was non-leader material BEFORE he was voted in as President.

[TigersEye]

The coalition, swelled to roughly 40 countries, and was one of the largest military coalitions ever assembled.

My memory was that it was more than that. My memory was right. (for once)

Who’s who in the Coalition of the Willing

A White House statement of 21 March 2003 informed the world that:

“President Bush is assembling a Coalition that has already begun military operations to disarm Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction, and enforce 17 UNSC resolutions.”

and that already 48 countries, all of whom “understand the threat Saddam Hussein’s weapons pose to the world”, were “publicly committed to the Coalition”, including:

Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Mongolia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan

On 3 April 2003, the number of Coalition members rose to 49 with the addition of Tonga, and that’s where it stands at the time of writing.

[rdb3]

Uh, no. He was just all the way terrible, right?

Jesus Christ: You can’t impeach Him and He ain’t going to resign.

[Excellence]

I think he will launch the missile before Congress convenes, because he knows the answer will be “no.”