Desperately Seeking Doctrine--WH Briefing--Froomkin--WaPo

[Demeter]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2006/07/10/BL2006071000583.html?referrer=email&referrer=email&referrer=email


All those previous Bush Doctrines guiding American foreign policy are now inoperative, it would appear, leaving the obvious question: What is operative?

Bush foreign policy has morphed dramatically over time. It started off humble and opposed to nation-building. After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the president boldly declared his doctrine of preventative war, vowing to pre-emptively attack emerging threats.

But after the invasion of Iraq failed to reveal any weapons of mass destruction there, the focus shifted to Bush's lofty pledge to fight terror by spreading democracy.

That hasn't worked very well either, however. And now the White House faces an inordinate number of new or growing challenges across the globe without anything remotely like a consistent approach -- or, for that matter, a good sense of who's in charge.

ANOTHER POLITICAL GOSSIP/ANALYSIS COLUMN

EVERYONE'S OOOHING ABOUT THE TIME MAGAZINE COVER FEATURING A 10 GALLON HAT.



WE HAD THAT PEGGED A LONG TIME AGO---BUSH IS ALL HAT AND NO CATTLE!

[unblock]

1. it's always been "whatever we can get away with"

[90-percent]

2. ironic

I've always found it the height of irony to decide to go to WAR and then decide on the reasons for it after it commences. Remember it was WMD's because it was "the only thing we could all agree on".

I only wish I had children that I could send to die for such a noble, albeit changing, cause!

-85% Jimmy

:sarcasm:

[unblock]

3. well of course it's because they're not telling us the REAL reason

"it's the first step toward controlling ALL the mideast oil" just isn't that politically palatable.

normally, a politically unpalatable rationale would be a deterrent to a voluntary war, but that's just yet more proof that what we have isn't really democracy, at least not while the shrubbies are in charge....

[Demeter]

4. It Isn't Possible, Let Alone Politically Palatable!

Talk about a fool's errand--and Dubya is just the fool to have set us upon it.