Pax Americana
Paddy Ashdown assembled a remarkable group of very well informed individuals to consider our continuing role in Iraq. They rejected a specific timetable for withdrawal and placed considerable emphasis on training Iraqis for policing and military purposes.
On yesterday’s NewsMax internet site, run by Chris Ruddy, an article in one of the conservative billionaire Richard Scaife’s newspapers has called for the withdrawal of American troops. This is hugely significant. This internet site is one with considerable influence in Republican circles. President Bush’s mental stability is questioned. It really is astonishing stuff.
President Bush was regarded as a good governor of Texas, but the advice he received from his neo-conservative advisers and supporters was not exactly soundly based in retrospect. Where are they now? Iraq cost Tory Blair his job more than anything else, and it has cost President Bush his reputation.
We cannot let this blind us to the crucial importance of the constructive engagement of the United States in the world, and our country’s role in securing this.