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March 9, 2006

Critics and Their Foibles

When the Bush administration came into office, its policy on foreign affairs was quite Jeffersonian: we would largely withdraw from conflict areas like the Israeli/Palestinian situation and let them sort out their own affairs. Per the critics, disengagement was the wrong policy, and instead we should engage with conflicts in order to resolve them.

So when we engaged, largely alone (initially) in Afghanistan and then with Britain and others in supporting roles in Iraq, the same critics were quick to tell us that "unilateralism" was the wrong policy, and instead we should engage "multilaterally".

So when we engaged multilaterally in North Korea, the very same critics were again quick to tell us that we were being too multilateral and should be more unilaterally engaged or, better yet, should disengage completely and just leave North Korea alone.

And the latest is Iran, where we have left Iran largely alone until lately, letting the EU and Russia run with negotiations and such. And now the very same critics once again say that we are wrong to follow this policy.

The only consistency in the anti-Bush critics on foreign policy is that they are against whatever President Bush does, regardless of the outcome. I'm sure it makes the critics feel good, but all it's done for me is to convince me that the Democrats must never again, unless they reform, have control of foreign policy until the long war against the jihadis is over. When your only policy principle is "Republicans bad", you are not fit to lead the country — indeed you're not even worth listening to.

Posted by jeff at March 9, 2006 6:47 PM

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I don’t know what they have to say, It makes no difference anyway – Whatever it is, I’m against it! No matter what it is or who commenced it, I’m against it. Your proposition may be good But let’s have one thing understood... [Read More]

Tracked on March 10, 2006 10:06 AM