THE BUSH LEGACY

Every President leaves a legacy. George Washington, founder of our nation left us democracy. Thomas Jefferson left us the Declaration of Independence,  Lincoln freed the slaves, Teddy Roosevelt created our national parks, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the Nobel Peace prize and a determination to defeat the Nazi’s, Nixon ended the Vietnam conflict and opened trade with China, Regan tore down the Berlin Wall while ending communism and George W. ???

In a few weeks, the 43rd-President of these United States will turn over the reigns to President Barack Obama. There will be a new round-table. As with all outgoing President’s, George W. is concerned about his legacy, which will be known as “The Bush Legacy.” George W, is hoping history will see him as a president who liberated millions of Iraqis and Afghans, who worked towards peace and who never sold his soul for political ends.

I however, think history will view him as a reckless President who opened Pandora’s Box, unleashing a form of terrorism on the world that we cannot put back in the box. One who pushed his “Cowboy” go-it-alone diplomacy which alienated some of America’s oldest friends and allies, and infuriated old enemies like Russia and latin America.

George W. would also like to be seen as the President who relieved HIV/AIDS and malaria on places like the continent of Africa; but truth be known, HIV has swallowed up 2/3rd’s of that continent with America not being able to get the rest of the world community on board its relief efforts financially. Bush would also like to say that he helped elderly people get prescription drugs and Medicare as a part of a basic package but the elderly are more confused about Medicare and prescription drugs than ever before with increased government regulation and red-tape.

About the only claim to success that Bush can claim is the removal of Saddam Hussein, one of the most evil dictators in history. But then, it was America, the CIA and George Bush Sr. that put Saddam in power in the first place.

Frankly, I’m glad to see George W, stepping back into the shadows. He stepped on too many toes, rubbed too many people the wrong way, stirred up animosity the world-over against the U.S. and its citizens (which is why terrorists were singling out U.S. citizens for execution in Mumbai). Under Clinton, the world loved America- under Bush, the world hates us and seeks our destruction. So, it is time for him to go back into the shadows from whence he came.

In his defense, though the CIA had warnings of a coordinated attack on America, they lacked the specifics (where, when, how). There is no way George W. or his administration could have prevented 911. Osama bin-Laden had been planning the attack on America during the Clinton administration. George W, did however restore dignity to America’s military unlike the contempt Bill Clinton had for our military. But Bush’s “Cowboy” go-it-alone diplomacy, his five-year occupation of Iraq, his insistence to build a missile-defense system in Europe which angered the Russians who have been feeling impotent of late, his “axis-of-evil” speech have not inspired world-leaders to band together to defeat terrorists or terrorism but instead only seem to inspire the terrorists themselves in their drive and comitment to thwart U.S. empire-building and single out and kill Americans;  any Americans, civilian or military.

Bush opened Pandora’s Box, unleashing world-wide terrorism and the brutality the likes of which have never before been seen on earth. In Mumbai, 197 were rounded up and executed by the Deccan Mujahideen. Today in Nigeria, sporadic bursts of gunfire rattled the central Nigerian city of Jos as security forces tried to prevent more clashes between Muslim and Christian gangs in which hundreds of people have been killed. Somali pirating has become so bad in the Persian Gulf that many of the supertankers refuse to use the Suez Canal after Somali Pirates hijacked the world’s largest supertanker the Sirius Star.

Terrorism, after 911 and the successful attack on America has become  premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents. Groups like al-Qaida, Deccan Muhajideen, Taliban, and others with links to organizations outside the country they operate in, who get their training, funding, and affiliation, without the knowledge of the authorities who provide law enforcement in those countries. Brut force, will not halt the spread of worldwide terrorism, violence only seems to increase the level of the terrorists brutality. The only way to defeat this systemic cancerous growth of terrorism is by a concerted world-wide effort. The incoming Obama administration is smart enough to recognize that America cannot be the world’s policeman and that in order to achieve this worldwide cooperation, we need to enlist the help of allies and other countries, to win back worldwide respect by sitting people down at the table and getting them to talk to us, including our enemies. You can’t fight your enemy if you can’t find them.

Only history knows how the Bush administration will be judged and what, if any, will be the “Bush Legacy.” But the Bush Legacy will not be what he hopes it will be. If anything, I think history will see that the Bush years took America and the world a huge step backward, escalating the level of violence around the world and almost wrecking the world economy.

Iraq, of course, remains the main argument that Bush and his few remaining supporters use to justify his legacy. Didn’t Bush get rid of Saddam Hussein? George W. Bush actually believes the Iraq war was a success and is “very pleased” with what is happening there. George W.’s war on terror has only seemed to increase terror around the world as copycat terrorist groups emmulate the success of al-Qaidi. Instead of Afghanistan becoming safer after the Taliban, it has become an even more dangerous place as remaining terrorists go out of their way to commit barbaric beheadings and other crimes against women and Americans. Mrs. Bush said that women in Iraq are safer now since the American occupation yet the attacks against women there, (throwing acid in their face) have escalated since the Americans arrived.

One of the American guards at Guantanamo Bay (Camp Gitmo) was quoted as saying, “if they didn’t hate America when they came here, they sure will after what we’ve done to them here.”

It’s a good thing Bush is leaving.

The saber rattling has increased with  a palsied intensity the last eight years while our closest friends and allies have tried to quietly tell us that America is only increasing the violence around the world. America, plain and simply, needs a “time-out.”

First came Afghanistan, Americans  wondered,  when the Ruskies spent years there to no avail why we were able to overthrow the Taliban so quickly. Then came the two-week war in Iraq. Bush in his flight suit strutting his stuff and here five and a half years later, American GI’s are still in surge mode. The president only has a few weeks left with India and Pakistan melting down fast and Iran still “touch and don’t go.”

George W.’s overly-aggressive response to 9-11 eventually sent liberals and Democrats over the edge. While Afghanistan was mostly supported, his invasion and occupation of Iraq sealed his doom. America has had few allies in this endeavor, and now faces an even greater number of enemies around the world. Proclaiming himself a “compassionate conservative”, George W. did nothing to reduce the size of government and cut government spending, he deregulated to the point where greedy lenders and investors have brought down not only our economy but the world economy to the point of a global melt-down.

So what will George W. Bush’s legacy be? Simply this.

It will be that he foolishly believed that bringing democracy to a region that had never experienced it would remove the terrorist threat in the long term. You cannot give democracy to anyone. They have to want it for themselves and be willing to fight for it as our founding fathers did in 1776. Secondly, that you cannot defeat terrorists by brute force but that brute force only emboldens them.

In the long term, these lessons might be a great legacy should Americans chose to learn from them and never forget them. But at the cost of almost ruining the American way of life, losing the respect and friendship of our oldest allies, earning the hatred and murderous contempt of terrorists around the world and giving them the “Jihad” they always wanted and an excuse to kill Westerner’s, it might have been lessons the world could have done without.

KH