I don’t believe Dubya had any concept of how weak kneed the rest of the world was going to get in this fight to clear out a terrorist nest that Saddam had been winking and nodding over, a nest which had gotten so bold it was no longer afraid to bomb a major American city. Dubya: “You’re either with us or against us.” World: “Say what?” Dubya: “(Oops!) Whatever.”
Dubbya started out great! I was really impressed with the incredible way they prosecuted the initial invasion.
They lost it when they stopped dead in their tracks in the first month. They should have sent another million troops over there and rooted out the insurgents and terrorists where they lived, in the first year.
Instead, he played his fathers game. Decided he wanted to be seen as the Pragmatic Bush he thought his daddy was. And started “rebuilding” DUmbocracy in a pond of insurgent quicksand.
Dumb move, admittedly.