I probably side with the latter, but this pretty much sums up GWBs performance from a political perspective.
I do as well, however, I'm sure this post will bring in the foreign policy know-it-alls, who happen to sit in on EVERY White House meeting and know for a fact what this administration is trying to accomplish.
The I don't care what you say crowd, will enlighten us with the REAL intent of Bush, and it will not be to their liking. The Reagan-bots will savage Bush, all the while conveniently forgetting their hero's 11th commandment.
It would only take a little coup in Pakistan and we would instantly get a nuclear-armed enemy. What are we going to do then? What if the coup happens while we have 100,000 troops at Kuwait's border with Iraq? What if the Chinese suddenly decide they don't like us no more?
Please note that there's very little that Iraq or Saddam could do to us. Most of the others I mentioned above could do us A LOT of harm.
Could it be that what distinguishes Iraq from the other 'suspects' is its being Israel's most powerful/dangerous enemy in the region?
Arafat obviously hasn't studied President Bush too closely, or he'd know not to mess with Texas.
I'd HATE to be on the wrong side of this President!
You could only pull it off if you are willing to take "heat" and let your methodology be dragged through the mud by the media. Basically willing to take the "dumb and incompetent" label that has been applied to him so often, only to be proven wrong when things worked out.
To pull off the latter, you'd have to have very little ego involved in decision making.
I think Bush has demonstrated in the past that he doesn't let his ego or the need for positive press get in his way.
John, fyi...
RPTR1: Governor, what do you think of the crisis in the Middle East?
GOV: I was saying, just this morning at the weekly prayer breakfast in this historic capital, that it behooves both the Jews and the Arabs to settle their differences in a Christian manner.
Fellow Texans, I am proudly standing here to humbly say,
I assure you .. and I mean it ..
Now who says I don’t speak out as plain as day;
And, fellow Texans, I’m for progress and the flag, long may it fly.
I’m a poor boy, come to greatness, so it follows that I cannot tell a lie.
RPTR2: What the hell did he say?
RPTR1: Same as usual … not a damn thing.
Oooh, I love to dance a little sidestep,
Now they see me, now they don’t, I’ve come and gone.
Oooh, I love to sweep around the wide step,
Cut a little swath and lead the people on.
Now, my good friends, it behooves me to be solemn and declare,
I’m for goodness, and for profit,
And for living clean and saying daily prayers;
And, now, my good friends, you can sleep nights, I’ll continue to stand tall.
You can trust me, for I promise, I shall keep a watchful eye upon y’all.
RPTR1: Did you get any of that?
RPTR2: I hear him talking, but he don’t come in.
Oooh, I love to dance a little sidestep,
Now they see me, now they don’t, I’ve come and gone.
And, oooh, I love to sweep around the wide step,
Cut a little swath and lead the people on.
Melvin P. Thorpe: Governor, why has the Chicken Ranch operation been so long ignored?
GOV: We should be having some acoustic problems in here.
MPT: Aren’t you afraid of possible pay-offs and bribes?
GOV: Melvin, I’m proud of you.
MPT: Enough of this pussy-footin’ governor, what do you intend to do about Miss Mona and the Chicken Ranch?
Now, Miss Mona, I don’t know her, though I’ve heard the name, oh, yes.
But, of course, I’ve no close contact,
So what she is doing, I can only guess.
And, now, Miss Mona, she’s a blemish on the face of that good town.
I am taking certain steps here,
Someone somewhere’s gonna have to close her down.
RPTR2: Do you have any idea what means?
RPTR1: Is that a “yes” or “no”?
RPTR3: It’s a possible “maybe”.
Oooh, I love to dance a little sidestep,
Now they see me, now they don’t, I’ve come and gone.
And, oooh, I love to sweep around the wide step,
Cut a little cloth and lead the people on.
Although an avoided future is hard to see, what Bush may have been worried about is the typical resistance from the Left of any type of war anywhere, for whatever reason. A powerful element of the American Left are (were?) American Jews. But when it comes to the issue of Israel, the "Bella Abzug Syndrome" applies. Bella Abzug, a New York liberal jewish congresswoman, was accused by the GOP many years ago of voting to transfer to Israel all kinds of weapons that she voted against building in the first place.
Now that Bush has supported Israel in its war on the Palestinian people, it would hardly be reasonable for this powerful lobby to begrudge this American President a military campaign against Iraq and Iran, conducted for American interests.....would it?
The Saudis continue to be the country that may well be the worst for facilitating terrorism, yet we are being dictated the terms of our relationship, when we should be saying, shape up, or we won't buy your oil.
And the principles set forth are being applied hypocritically, instead of being against the terrorists--now there are good terrorists and bad ones. And the states who harbor them, and fund them, can do so without fear of reprisal
I don't think this is clever at all. At best its manipulation that won't work (didn't we all get tired of that over the last 8 years?) and at worst its waffling incompentence.
Bush is still better than ANY demoRat. But a great president, he certainly is not.
This is my concern also. All we need is for American and British servicemen to be used as hostages or in other ways be set up to constrain the Israelis.
I have also been perplexed at what Bush is up to. This may well be a very clever two step. If so, this is genius diplomacy.
I doubt that the Israeli/Palestinian conflict will be settled by outside diplomacy. It will happen only when a new leadership arises from the Palestinians.
Real success for Bush's foreign policy will be marked by regime changes in Iran and Iraq.
And then the Iraqis and the Iranians can split Saudi Arabia between them and return Mecca and Medina to the control of the Hashemites in Jordan.
I submit that it is the Press and Pundants that can't make up their minds.
I want to believe....