In the aftermath of the 9/11 terror tragedies, President Bush wasted no time thrusting his worldview into American foreign policy.
In true southern Texas fashion, U.S. policy seemed to be transformed into a mindset of “shoot first and ask questions later” — at least this is how it appeared to many on the left of the political spectrum with the invasion of Iraq.
At the point of Bush’s sword was an idea — an idea that seemed to magically appear within the ethos of American foreign policy.
All of a sudden, the U.S. was going to protect American citizens by bringing democracy and freedom to Iraq, and subsequently, to the entire Middle East by demonstrating the power and effectiveness of the American way of life.
Even after it became clear weapons of mass destruction were not going to be found in Iraq, which was the number one reason for the invasion, President Bush still maintained his position.
Bush believed that by bringing freedom and democracy to Iraq, the end result would be a safer and more secure America.
Bush’s logic was simple according to a quote of his on brainyquotes.com.
“American foreign policy must be more than the management of
crisis,” Bush said, according to the website. “It must have a great and guiding goal: to turn this time of American influence into generations of democratic peace.”
However, as the Iraq War dragged on, some citizens began to lose hope in the Bush administration’s policy of “Give them freedom” to “Make them friends.”
Many liberals began to mock and laugh at the president for what they perceived was a simple and arrogant view.
Many liberals attacked Bush on the ground his ideas of freedom and democracy would never work in a society and a culture that was simply too different from western values and thinking.
Fast-forward a decade, and the Middle East is now a hot bed of protest and unrest.
At the core of these protests are young people crying out for an end to governments filled with corruption and lead by dictators. What they want now is democracy and freedom.
In short, these people want — at least to some extent — our way of life and our form of government.
I can just hear President Bush saying something like, “Well, duh, they want our freedoms.”
Bush’s idea all men want to be free suddenly seems to have a new breath of life in light of these current protests.
The liberals who scoffed at Bush for saying things like, “I believe that God has planted in every human heart the desire to live in freedom, and even when that desire is crushed by tyranny for decades, it will rise again” might want to re-think the scoffing and cynicism they held to during Bush’s presidency.
Though as a proud liberal Democrat myself, I cannot help but feel President Bush was truly on to something when he kept believing and pushing forward the idea that Iraqis were tired of living under a harsh dictator’s thumb.
They wanted democracy and freedom, and the recent protests in countries like Egypt and Libya bear strong evidence to this point.
While President Bush may have been wrong in the execution of his ideas and beliefs, given the current uprising and protests in the Middle East, his beliefs about all mankind wanting democracy and freedom seem to be more true and relevant now than ever before.
By DAVID
WOODSON
Newscast editor
dwoodson@imail.iu.edu
