European Media Calls George W. Bush Visionaryby Rachel Marsden Human Events EXCERPT:
Posted 02/20/2011 ET
A new article in Der Spiegel magazinethe German equivalent of Time or Newsweekapplauds George W. Bush for his vision of democracy in the Middle East, and credits him for the fact that authoritarian regimes in the region are being kicked to the curb.
"Painful as it may be to admit, it was the despised former U.S. President George W. Bush who believed in the democratization of the Muslim world and incurred the scorn and mockery of the Left for his conviction," says the piece by Jan Fleischhauer.
Hear that? That's the sound of bowls full of Whole Foods organic granola smashing to the ground. Before we get carried away and cause people to dive off bridges as a result of having to think of George W. Bush as a Nobel Peace Prize candidate, let's consider some reasons presented by various sources so far as to why Bush may not, in fact, be responsible for the tsunami of change we're currently witnessing in Islamic nations.
1. The wave of change started in Africa, with the people of the Ivory Coast elections in December 2010 refusing to allow permanent fixture President Laurent Gbagbo to stay in power after losing democratic elections to rival Alassane Ouattara. The people rioted until he left, during which the UN reported hundreds of arrests, dozens of murders, and significant torture by Gbagbo's men. This was arguably the spark that ignited the whole region: Just a democratic election in which someone refused to rightfully vacate his seat. Days later, the people of nearby Tunisia seem to have decided that their guy, Ben Ali, had been in power long enough (23 years) and wasn't likely to leave of his own volition. So they gave him a bit of a shove.
2. George W. Bush may have said he had a vision of Islamic democracy, but what he really meant was that it was a side-effect of avenging his dad in the wake of the Gulf War. Kind of like when so-called do-gooders volunteer to be candy stripers in hospitals, not because they enjoy giving of themselves to people suffering, but rather because they like that sweet discount they get on the cafeteria food.
3. Bush didn't "show a man how to fish." He reached into the swamp, pulled out the shark with his bare hands, and hanged it in a secure facility north of Baghdad. You're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to wait until the locals figure it out. But would the other Islamic countries living under authoritarianism have figured it out on their ownor was Iraq an icebreaker?
4. Bush didn't invade Saudia Arabia. Or Iran. Or strap himself onto the back of a rocket and take care of business himself like in Dr. Strangelove. So he clearly didn't do enough!
5. War doesn't create peace. Naive kids in floppy blue hats traipsing around in conflict zones create peace and change. Through joy and smiles, silly.
END EXCERPT
Many people have stated George W. Bush would be remembered quite differently by history, gee, I'm one of them. I'm pleasantly surprised that he's starting to get some respect already.
Posted 02/20/2011 ET
A new article in Der Spiegel magazinethe German equivalent of Time or Newsweekapplauds George W. Bush for his vision of democracy in the Middle East, and credits him for the fact that authoritarian regimes in the region are being kicked to the curb.
"Painful as it may be to admit, it was the despised former U.S. President George W. Bush who believed in the democratization of the Muslim world and incurred the scorn and mockery of the Left for his conviction," says the piece by Jan Fleischhauer.
Hear that? That's the sound of bowls full of Whole Foods organic granola smashing to the ground. Before we get carried away and cause people to dive off bridges as a result of having to think of George W. Bush as a Nobel Peace Prize candidate, let's consider some reasons presented by various sources so far as to why Bush may not, in fact, be responsible for the tsunami of change we're currently witnessing in Islamic nations.
1. The wave of change started in Africa, with the people of the Ivory Coast elections in December 2010 refusing to allow permanent fixture President Laurent Gbagbo to stay in power after losing democratic elections to rival Alassane Ouattara. The people rioted until he left, during which the UN reported hundreds of arrests, dozens of murders, and significant torture by Gbagbo's men. This was arguably the spark that ignited the whole region: Just a democratic election in which someone refused to rightfully vacate his seat. Days later, the people of nearby Tunisia seem to have decided that their guy, Ben Ali, had been in power long enough (23 years) and wasn't likely to leave of his own volition. So they gave him a bit of a shove.
2. George W. Bush may have said he had a vision of Islamic democracy, but what he really meant was that it was a side-effect of avenging his dad in the wake of the Gulf War. Kind of like when so-called do-gooders volunteer to be candy stripers in hospitals, not because they enjoy giving of themselves to people suffering, but rather because they like that sweet discount they get on the cafeteria food.
3. Bush didn't "show a man how to fish." He reached into the swamp, pulled out the shark with his bare hands, and hanged it in a secure facility north of Baghdad. You're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to wait until the locals figure it out. But would the other Islamic countries living under authoritarianism have figured it out on their ownor was Iraq an icebreaker?
4. Bush didn't invade Saudia Arabia. Or Iran. Or strap himself onto the back of a rocket and take care of business himself like in Dr. Strangelove. So he clearly didn't do enough!
5. War doesn't create peace. Naive kids in floppy blue hats traipsing around in conflict zones create peace and change. Through joy and smiles, silly.
END EXCERPT
Many people have stated George W. Bush would be remembered quite differently by history, gee, I'm one of them. I'm pleasantly surprised that he's starting to get some respect already.
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