Der Spiegel: "The Most Dangerous Foreign Policy Blunder Since Vietnam"

[marmar]

from Truthout:


"The Most Dangerous Foreign Policy Blunder Since Vietnam"
By Marc Pitzke
Der Spiegel

Friday 12 January 2007

George W. Bush's last attempt to win the war in Iraq is meeting with strong resistance. His own party is criticizing him with brutal openness, calling his new ideas for Iraq a disaster. Bush is almost completely isolated - like Richard Nixon during his final days in office.

Chuck Hagel, the Republican senator from Nebraska, has ambitions to move into the White House. And since the race for electoral victory in 2008 has already begun, Mr. Hagel has no more time for losers - even if one of those losers happens to be George W. Bush, his own president.

That became brutally clear on Thursday in the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, which invited Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to explain President Bush's newest approach to Iraq. Despite being at pains to perform well, the conscientious emissary didn't get very far - especially since five designated presidential candidates are sitting on the committee.

Hagel scathingly described the strategy outlined by Bush in his address to the nation, televised on Wednesday, as "the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since Vietnam, if it's carried out." Poor Rice sat wordlessly across from him, her face frozen in a trenchant and grim expression. Scornful applause filled the room - an unheard of reaction in itself.

A veteran of the US war in Vietnam, Hagel was not alone. It was clear none of the newly confident congressional Democrats would jump onto Bush's proposed Baghdad express, which Senator Joe Biden called a "tragic mistake."

But what about the Republicans? One after another, they severed their allegiance to Bush and slated his plans for Iraq. Rather than sighs of relief, all Bush got after his stated decision to send an additional 21,500 US troops to Iraq were evil tidings. Ronald Reagan's former chief of staff Ken Duberstein characterized Bush's strategy as "exceptionally hard to accomplish."

Taking Up the Sledgehammer

An additional 21,500 troops? Still more billions of dollars for reconstruction? A fresh diplomatic offensive? "I've gone along with the president on this and I've bought into his dream and at this stage of the game I just don't think it's going to happen," said Republican Senator George Voinovich, sounding bitter and resigned. ......(more)

The rest of the article: http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/011307E.shtml

[Selah]

1. spiegel?

[Bjornsdotter]

3. German magazine

Here's a link to the English site.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,,00.html

Cheers

[Olney Blue]

2. The Republicans are paying for nominating and electing the raving chimp.