The
new improved Bush
By Tesfu Telahoun
The scion of a wealthy and powerful dynasty, the future president
experienced his first born-again moment at 40 years of age when
the hellraiser Texan playboy went on the wagon, persevered and has
not fallen off since. The second is now in progress.
Skim through the first years of the 21st century and inarguably,
George Bush has emerged as the most controversial president since
Richard Nixon - even shall we dare say, of history?
He is viscerally loathed by his detractors as much as he is idolized
by ardent admirers. There is no equivocation of position when one
is asked to express opinion about the most powerful human on the
planet. People know quite clearly how they feel about President
Bush-who has now entered the so-called "lame duck" phase
of his second term.
For the last seven years and especially since 9/11; Bush, his party
and the U.S. in general, have had to go through difficult times.
Many U.S. and nearly all world media, incensed at the unilateral
declaration by the U.S. of the "war on terror" have made
Bush the prime target of diatribes in editorials from Amman to Antananarivo
and Muscat to Moscow.
At long last however, as the world's attention focuses ever more
on the U.S. elections, good news - a rare commodity in the Bush
presidency is plentiful and the beleaguered president is taking
full advantage. What has occurred to foster this political rebirth
Bush is enjoying at the moment? Several factors come to mind but
Iraq, the Middle East and the election of conservative leaders in
Europe stand out most.
IRAQ is working…but only just
Approval ratings for President Bush have been the most erratic than
of any world leader. Following 9/11, Bush enjoyed an approval rating
of 90 percent (the highest of any president in U.S.- history) but
has also wallowed in the low twenties, with a disapproval rating
of over 65% also a record since Nixon of Watergate infamy.
International regard for the president was dealt a near fatal blow
by the invasion of Iraq and worsened as the traditional western
allies fell out. It plummeted even further when the U.S. led coalition
failed to discover Saddam's WMDs - the objective of 'Operation Iraqi
Freedom'. A text book perfect invasion succeeded in toppling a loathed
dictator but the nation he had kept together with barbaric cruelty
began to fall apart. Donald Rumsfeld's 'Shock and Awe' strategy
liberated Iraq but his post invasion planning was hardly worth the
name. Very quickly it became too clear that although it is possible
to conquer a fairly large nation with just 130,000 troops, occupying
it with any reasonable degree of pacification proved to be a difficult
if not impossible task.
Enter AQI - (Al- Quaeda in Iraq) which skillfully and mercilessly
stepped into the vacuum. AQI, gambling on the fierce patriotism
of Iraqi's, who were and are fully justified in resisting foreign
occupation, exploited the situation by wanton acts of mass murder,
cunningly devised to widen long suppressed ethnic and sectarian
division. AQI brought untold suffering and misery to a nation that
had already endured nearly three decades of Baathist excess.
The international community became almost inured to the appalling
bloodshed - choosing to callously feed off news of the horrific
carnage and of course, point a finger at the world's scapegoat personified
(they wouldn't use that word) by George Walker Bush.
The turning point
A little over a year ago, (some say as early as the elimination
of Jordanese born mass killer Al-Zarquawi) the unholy alliance among
the disparate parts of the insurgency began to crack.
This situation was also strengthened by a unilateral declaration
of a cessation of hostilities on coalition forces by the powerful
shitte milita of cleric Mukhtadar al Sadr.
The patriotic insurgency over the last eight months has almost completely
eliminated AQI from their ranks as Sunni fighters even co-operate
on joint search and destroy operations with coalition forces.
Baghdad is returning to a semblance of normality. Land and house
prices are rising as refugees begin to trickle then rush back home.
Much of the credit, at least on the part of the U.S., has been to
General Richard Petra's, commander of U.S and coalition forces in
Iraq, who has skillfully utilized the extra 24,000 troops deployed
in the now tried and proven "surge". At long last, the
Iraqis have a relative quiet. Shops, schools, other businesses -
even the Baghdad stock market have opened. Baghdad is livelier,
busier and most importantly safer than at any time since the 2003
invasion.
The improvement in Iraq has been like a fresh wind for Bush who
had all along, asked for patience. "The surge will work"
he has said and well it did. This development has spurred Bush to
rekindle those lofty visions of global democracy that had been shot
down before they could fly.
(to be continued...)
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