[movermike] movermike: The Nuanced George Bush

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Posted by movermike:
The Nuanced George Bush
http://www.movermike.com/posts/1159662509.shtml


   The latest Early Warning Report written by Richard Maybury came today
   and has the fascinating observation that President Bush is back to
   warning about meddling in other countries. This was the reason people
   in the Middle East hate us and seems to go along with the thoughts of
   Michael Scheuer, author of Through Our Enemies' Eyes, that Osama bin
   Laden hates the U.S. for three reasons: We are allies with Israel; we
   have sullied the holy land of Saudi Arabia; and we have supported
   dictators and despots that have killed and robbed Muslim people of
   their freedoms.

   On August 7th President Bush and Secretary of State Rice Discuss the
   Middle East Crisis in Crawford, Texas:

     And as far [1]as this administration is concerned, we clearly see
     the problem and we're going to continue to work to advance stable,
     free countries. We don't expect every country to look like the
     United States, but we do want countries to accept some basic
     conditions for a vibrant society -- human rights, human decency,
     the power of the people to determine the fate of their governments.
     And, admittedly, this is hard work because it flies in the face of
     previous policy, which basically says stability is more important
     than form of government. And as a result of that policy, anger and
     resentment bubbled forth with an attack, with a series of attacks,
     the most dramatic of which was on September the 11th.

   On August 31st President Bush Addresses American Legion National
   Convention at Salt Lake City, Utah:

     To understand [2]the struggle unfolding in the Middle East, we need
     to look at the recent history of the region. For a half- century,
     America's primary goal in the Middle East was stability. This was
     understandable at the time; we were fighting the Soviet Union in
     the Cold War, and it was important to support Middle Eastern
     governments that rejected communism. Yet, over the decades, an
     undercurrent of danger was rising in the Middle East. Much of the
     region was mired in stagnation and despair. A generation of young
     people grew up with little hope to improve their lives, and many
     fell under the sway of radical extremism. The terrorist movement
     multiplied in strength, and resentment that had simmered for years
     boiled over into violence across the world.

   On September 9th President Bush Discusses Global War on Terror in
   Washington, D.C.:

     Fifth, [3]we're working to deny terrorists new recruits, by
     defeating their hateful ideology and spreading the hope of freedom
     -- by spreading the hope of freedom across the Middle East. For
     decades, American policy sought to achieve peace in the Middle East
     by pursuing stability at the expense of liberty. The lack of
     freedom in that region helped create conditions where anger and
     resentment grew, and radicalism thrived, and terrorists found
     willing recruits. And we saw the consequences on September the
     11th, when the terrorists brought death and destruction to our
     country. The policy wasn't working.

   In checking his latest pronouncement about the Middle East and Iraq,
   President Bush changes the message subtly when he discusses [4]Global
   War on Terror in Washington, D.C.:

     Iraq is not the reason the terrorists are at war against us. They
     are at war against us because they hate everything America stands
     for -- and we stand for freedom. We stand for people to worship
     freely. One of the great things about America is, you're equally
     American if you're a Jew, a Muslim, a Christian, an agnostic or an
     atheist. What a powerful statement to the world about the
     compassion of the American people that you're free to choose the
     religion you want in our country. They can't stand the thought that
     people can go into the public square in America and express their
     differences with government. They can't stand the thought that the
     people get to decide the future of our country by voting. Freedom
     bothers them because their ideology is the opposite of liberty, it
     is the opposite of freedom. And they don't like it because we know
     they know we stand in their way of their ambitions in the Middle
     East, their ambitions to spread their hateful ideology as a
     caliphate from Spain to Indonesia.

   Bush seems to be reflecting the divide in this country. On the one
   hand they hate us for the stability we sought in the Cold War by
   supporting despots which deprived their young people of economic
   development that produced simmering anger. On the other hand it is a
   clash of civilizations. They hate us for the freedoms we enjoy.
   Freedom of religion, speech and thought, but also the freedom to be
   morally corrupt.

   Maybe, Bush is trying to get the people of this country united against
   the terrorists. The more liberal blame the anger on poverty and people
   like me blame it on the religion of Islam. If we are to be successful,
   we need to be primarily speaking with one voice.

   [5]Early Warning Report [6]Richard Maybury [7]Michael Scheuer
   [8]Through Our Enemies' Eyes [9]Israel [10]Iraq [11]Mover Mike

References

   1. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060807.html
   2. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/08/20060831-1.html
   3. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060905-4.html
   4. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/09/20060929-3.html
   5. http://technorati.com/tag/Early+Warning+Report
   6. http://technorati.com/tag/Richard+Maybury
   7. http://technorati.com/tag/Michael+Scheuer
   8. http://technorati.com/tag/Through+Our+Enemies'+Eyes
   9. http://technorati.com/tag/Israel
  10. http://technorati.com/tag/Iraq
  11. http://technorati.com/tag/Mover+Mike