With the release of George Bushs' autobiography Decision Points - with something like 1.5 million books to be moved - whatever few revelations there are of the Shrub's view of events during his presidency and his reflection on them, his slant on history bears close examination. That is exactly what The Independent has done.
For example:
"The war on terror: 'There are things we got wrong in Iraq, but the cause is eternally right'
President Bush never had much idea of what was going on in Iraq or Afghanistan. This is as true now as when he was in the White House. He blandly claims that "the Iraqi people are better off with a government that answers to them instead of torturing or murdering them", as if torture has not been the norm in Iraqi prisons since 2004.
Nobody ever imagined that Mr Bush had much of a clue about the war he blundered into in Iraq or its impact in the Middle East. Even so it is breathtaking to read sentences such as: "The region is more hopeful with a young democracy setting an example for others to follow." This appears after a week in which 58 Christians were slaughtered in a church in Baghdad and cafes and restaurants in the capital are empty after a dozen bombs killed more than 70 people. Eight months after an election in March parties have failed to form a new government.
To be fair, Mr Bush's ignorance was shared by those around him. Perhaps it says something of the US political class as a whole that they underestimated the dangers of Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The only important exception was General David Petraeus, now in command in Afghanistan.
Mr Bush joins former US presidents, notably Bill Clinton, who believe they came within a whisker of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This supposedly happened in 2008 in the last days of Ehud Olmert as prime minister of Israel and Mr Bush as president of the US. It is not a convincing claim.
More realistically, Mr Bush says he considered an attack on Iran but was persuaded that it had halted its nuclear weapons programme. Overall this is thin gruel for the historian of Mr Bush at peace and war in the Middle East."
For example:
"The war on terror: 'There are things we got wrong in Iraq, but the cause is eternally right'
President Bush never had much idea of what was going on in Iraq or Afghanistan. This is as true now as when he was in the White House. He blandly claims that "the Iraqi people are better off with a government that answers to them instead of torturing or murdering them", as if torture has not been the norm in Iraqi prisons since 2004.
Nobody ever imagined that Mr Bush had much of a clue about the war he blundered into in Iraq or its impact in the Middle East. Even so it is breathtaking to read sentences such as: "The region is more hopeful with a young democracy setting an example for others to follow." This appears after a week in which 58 Christians were slaughtered in a church in Baghdad and cafes and restaurants in the capital are empty after a dozen bombs killed more than 70 people. Eight months after an election in March parties have failed to form a new government.
To be fair, Mr Bush's ignorance was shared by those around him. Perhaps it says something of the US political class as a whole that they underestimated the dangers of Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The only important exception was General David Petraeus, now in command in Afghanistan.
Mr Bush joins former US presidents, notably Bill Clinton, who believe they came within a whisker of solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This supposedly happened in 2008 in the last days of Ehud Olmert as prime minister of Israel and Mr Bush as president of the US. It is not a convincing claim.
More realistically, Mr Bush says he considered an attack on Iran but was persuaded that it had halted its nuclear weapons programme. Overall this is thin gruel for the historian of Mr Bush at peace and war in the Middle East."
Comments