Help me torpedo this BS from Tony Blankley...

[devilgrrl]

Oy vey! Look what a friend sent me. Sorry that I don't have link. Can some of you kids help me shoot this out the sky?

Thanks bunches.

get your air sickness bags ready...

Blankley
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published February 11, 2004

The Boston Globe -- the respected, liberal newspaper owned by the New York Times -- ran an article last week that Bush critics may wish to read carefully. It is a report on a new book that argues that President Bush has developed and is ably implementing only the third American grand strategy in our history.

The author of this book, "Surprise, Security, and the American Experience" (Harvard Press) to be released in March, is John Lewis Gaddis, the Robert A. Lovett professor of military and naval history at Yale University. The Boston Globe describes Mr. Gaddis as "the dean of Cold War studies and one of the nation's most eminent diplomatic historians." In other words, this is not some put-up job by an obscure right-wing author. This comes from the pinnacle of the liberal Ivy League academic establishment.

If you hate George W. Bush, you will hate this Boston Globe story because it makes a strong case that Mr. Bush stands in a select category with presidents Franklin Delano Roosevelt and James Monroe (as guided by his secretary of state, John Q. Adams) in implementing one of only three grand strategies of American foreign policy in our two-century history.

As the Globe article describes in an interview with Mr. Gaddis: "Grand strategy is the blueprint from which policy follows. It envisions a country's mission, defines its interests, and sets its priorities. Part of grand strategy's grandeur lies in its durability: A single grand strategy can shape decades, even centuries of policy."

EDITED BY ADMIN: COPYRIGHT

<end>

Now, I'm no fan of McAuliffe but I agree with him here.

[nankerphelge]

1. That's easy to discredit

All you have to say is "Tony Blankley" and "Washington Times."

[alcuno]

2. I vote with the "lying nitwit" characterization.

What is it with Republicans always trying to write their place in history before the ink has even dried?

The problem with the ENTIRE argument is that it never once mentions WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION. You don't get to use the "grand strategy" rationale when that's not why the American people thought we were going to war.

[K-W]

3. Easy as pie

Implementing a grand strategy doesnt mean it is a good strategy. It is true, Bush, like some presidents before him (more than just the few he mentions) is trying to implement a new foriegn policy strategy. PNAC etc to be precise. One of the two major mistakes made here is that only people who succeeded in changing forien policy strategies tried them. Bush could join the longer list of people who tried to shift the strategy and failed. The other, as I mentioned, is the assumption that all shifts are positive.

Regardless, things arent nearly as simple as he says and Bush isnt really pushing a model different from that pushed by the first expansionists.

[BigBigBear]

4. Nonsense

I have yet to see any "intensified dialogue" about political reform anywhere - the hardliners have shut out the moderates in Iran, the Syrians had already expressed a willingness to help in the WoT after 9/11 (why they should continue to do so after bellicosity from Wolfie and Rummy is anyone's guess), the Libyans are utterly irrelevant and the Saudi move is an obvious capitulation to OBL - no biggie, since everything will just move to Qatar or Iraq.

The UN, his allegedly "outmoded international system", btw, is inspecting Iranian nuclear facilities and is being sought to broker elections in Iraq (eventually.)

And anyway, Bush has never made this case as reason for the Iraq War - he continues to assert it was to address a grave threat to our security - a temporal, tactical move, far removed from the Grand Strategy this guy wishes to credit him with.

Comparing Bush to FDR is....wow, I'll have what this this guy is having.

[BigBigBear]

6. As for political reform

this is from today's headlines.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-belgium-saud...

Saudis Warn U.S. on Pushing for Reforms(in Saudi Arabia)

By PAUL GEITNER
Associated Press Writer February 19, 2004, 11:23 AM EST

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Saudi Arabia's foreign minister warned the United States on Thursday against pressing too hard for reforms in the kingdom, saying they were being enacted with "deliberate speed" to ensure their success.

Prince Saud al-Faisal also said he was skeptical about American efforts to promote democracy in the Arab world, pointing to the economic plight of Russians after the breakup of the Soviet Union. <snip>

Perhaps we should chip in for a subscription to the Moonie Times for the Saudi royals, folks.

[papau]

5. 1814's territorial expansion/filling power vacuums is dif from Bush - how?

I like and want our "outmoded international system." that President Clinton thought would guide the rapidly occurring globalization and democratization that indeed are inevitable, and with our help can install wage, human rights, and environmental laws across the world.

This guy sees not giving up civil rights to Ashcroft's new laws, and not going to war when things like intrusive inspections agreements are in hand and may well work to accomplish the overthrow of the bad guy, as somehow "shallow" - so Clinton is bad.

There was a time Yale had quality minds on board.

sigh....

:-)

[Samantha]

7. Cynics of Mr. Bush* suspect his talk of spreading "democracy" might

actually be spreading "American corporate interests" under the guise of Democracy. I look at his promotion of corporate interests above the interests of the people he is supposed to be representing and protecting, and I believe the latter is true.

The author does not mention the United States was ASKED to leave Saudia Arabia by its government. We were given a deadline. I do not have a link to the article, but it was reported on the front page of The Washington Post about six months before we finally left. The reason we were asked to leave was due to the fact our presence there was inciting too much unrest, and the fear existed that our continued presence there might provoke an even higher risk of greater unrest (I believe the article suggested they were afraid of a terrorist attack because of US presence, but it's been a long time since I read this article). The bottom line is we were no longer welcome there.

Wars generally improve a nation's economy -- this is nothing new. Republicans are known for starting wars -- this too is nothing new. Even John McCain made a public statement recoiling from the war profiteering currently underway. I don't think the Bush* doctrine of walking away from treaties and attacking the borders of sovereign nations unilaterally is anything to brag about, especially since, as Al Gore pointed out to us, this is exactly why we entered the first Gulf War -- Iraq had done exactly that, invaded the borders of a sovereign nation.

[kodi]

8. bush's grand strategy is on par with lee's at gettysburg

.

[scarface2004]

9. bush is a moron...

the r w loonies need to get a grip! what a delusional pack of freaks!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. Things you should know about Gaddis...

HOOVER INSTITUTION
<http://www-hoover.stanford.edu/BIOS/gaddis.html>


GADDIS JOHN LEWIS
<http://www.namebase.org/main2/John-Lewis-Gaddis.html>


John Lewis Gaddis
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Lewis_Gaddis>


In summary, Gaddis is connected with everyone that was connected with Junior's father. Cold War warriors, just like Rumsfeld, Perle, Wolfowitz, etc.

Junior a major figure in U. S. History? Maybe so, but not in quite the way the little egomaniac was hoping.

[Moderator]

11. Although I'll be locking this, the link to the copyrighted article is ...

http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20040210-082912-8099r.htm

[Moderator]

12. Locking

Rules to start discussion threads in the General Discussion forum.

...

7. Discussion topics that mention any or all of the Democratic presidential primary candidates are not permitted in the General Discussion forum, and instead must be posted in the General Discussion: 2004 Primary forum.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation,
DU moderator