A Time For Giving Thanks

Weekly Standard: President-Elect Obama Has Some Reasons To Say Thank You To President Bush

(Weekly Standard)  This column was written by Jules Crittenden.

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As the transition progresses and Barack Obama's inauguration draws closer, it's a good moment to mull the gifts George W. Bush has left for the incoming president. Bush has made the world a better place, and if Obama wants to do the same, he will take the good things Bush has done and move forward with them.

Early indicators are in fact positive. In foreign policy, possibly embarrassed by the eagerness with which the world's most vile regimes have welcomed his election, Obama is backing off his many promises to sit down with dictators. His antiwar base is already outraged that he may not make closing the hated "Crusader gulag" at Guantánamo Bay his first act of national liberation from the Bush era. He is even reportedly considering allowing the CIA some leeway in interrogation techniques.

In the critical field of war and foreign policy, there are quite a few things for which President-elect Obama can thank George Bush.

First and foremost, Saddam Hussein-a state sponsor of terrorism, a producer of weapons of mass destruction, a warmonger, and a genocidal maniac-is gone. The threat he posed was a nagging concern to Bill Clinton, but Clinton, lacking the political will or perhaps a good excuse, was content to consider Saddam trapped in a box. George W. Bush didn't have that luxury. After the September 11 attacks the stakes were raised and Bush understood the world could not tolerate the presence of someone like Saddam, who defied all international challenges and was actively subverting the restraints upon him.

For the last five years, Saddam has been viewed, in retrospect, as having been harmless, but that is only because he was deposed and captured by forces acting on George Bush's orders, then tried and hanged by the Iraqi people. The Baathist regime is no more.

Thank you, George W. Bush.

That difficult task, which required the terrible resolve to send men to their deaths and also required several painful readjustments of strategy and tactics, was done in time so that Obama should be able to fulfill his campaign promise of getting out of Iraq and ramping up in Afghanistan.

It will be possible for Obama to draw down the U.S. troop presence in Iraq without a precipitous, premature withdrawal that could plunge the region into genocidal chaos and leave Iran the de facto regional power. Iraq is peaceful enough now that a policy fudge by Obama there-unlike on the Guantánamo issue-is something his liberal backers are unlikely to hold against him.

With minor policy adjustments that no one will notice, much less begrudge, he can stay past his 16-month deadline and continue to build Iraq as a beacon of democracy and a U.S. ally in the Middle East. Iraq's cabinet has approved a deal asking U.S. forces to stay until 2012, and Iraq's free parliament has been debating the matter in a highly spirited fashion-including fisticuffs-not unlike the early congressional proceedings of another nascent democracy.

Thank you, George W. Bush.

In the 1990s, anyone who told you Iraq would be a functioning, U.S.-allied democracy within a few short years would have been laughed out of the room. It has come at tremendous cost in both American and Iraqi lives. It is reasonable to assume, however, given the massive ethnic blood toll Saddam inflicted to maintain his regime, that establishing a Western-leaning Iraqi democracy has been accomplished with only a fraction of the violence that would have taken place absent U.S. intervention. Iran, while it meddles and wields deadly influence, has been kept at arm's length in the process, when Iran and Syria might both have been expected to descend on a post-Saddam Iraq. This highly dangerous region is stable-and has hope of remaining so.

The very concept of democracy in the region received a major boost when Arabs saw millions of Iraqis voting while under threat of death. This evolution is playing out in fits and starts in Lebanon and even the Palestinian territories, where voters have learned that the democratic process only begins with a vote. When Hamas chose to reward its backers with a bloodbath and international isolation, George Bush used that opportunity to draw an unprecedented gathering for former adversaries together to talk peace. Meanwhile, the very delicate Pakistan has advanced, with U.S. support, from military rule to elected civilian rule and remains an ally, if a problematic one, in America's war on Islamic extremism.

Thank you, George W. Bush.

George Bush has put a bow on his gift. The U.S. military's leading counterinsurgency warrior-philosopher, General David Petraeus, who resolved the initial mistakes of the Iraq occupation, now commands U.S. forces in the entire region, including Afghanistan. As some of the same voices that despaired in Iraq, declaring quagmires and demanding precipitous withdrawal, turn their despair to Afghanistan, Obama goes into battle without having to search for his Grant. He's already been found.

Thank you, George W. Bush.

The nuclear arms race in the Middle East was checked after 2003 when Iraq was cut out of it, Libya surrendered, and Iran momentarily halted its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Iran is back in the game, and apparently Syria as well, but Europe and the U.N. have come into line with George Bush on Iran, recognizing that ultimately someone must be willing to use force when all else fails. Bush has demonstrated to Obama that it is possible to negotiate from a position of strength with the international blessing that Obama craves.

Iran is perhaps the greatest challenge Obama will face. It requires him to be willing to take action on his own and not simply manage what was initiated by Bush. The prospect of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic of Iran is one that threatens to upset the pro-democracy, pro-American balance of power Bush has painstakingly created.

There is one thing Bush did not do for Obama, a key bit of unfinished business in a midwar transition. Bush failed to increase the number of U.S. ground forces in the immediate post-9/11 period when Congress would have signed a blank check. As a result, Obama will become commander in chief of an overstressed military at a time when there is still more fighting to be done. To establish himself as a wartime president and show that he is serious about America's obligations and vital interests in the world, Obama, among his first acts as president, must make an effort to increase the size of the Army and the Marine Corps.

George W. Bush did not solve all the problems of the world's most troubled and dangerous region. But, for all his shortcomings, he has moved them forward and established the United States as the dominant agent for change in the Middle East. Consider the mess Obama would be inheriting in the region if the Bush administration had just sat on its thumbs-Ahmadinejad's Iran with an even further advanced nuclear arms program, an aging Saddam installing one of his psychopathic sons in power or Iraq being torn apart in a genocidal nightmare. Imagine all the regimes of the region, unchastened and unimpressed by the U.S. exercise of power, looking for any weakness or advantage to exploit and quite possibly finding it in al Qaeda and its affiliates.

Bush has set conditions that could allow Obama, if he abandons the desire to be liked as the underlying principle of his foreign policy and sticks to the path the Bush administration has laid out, to preside over the greatest blossoming of liberal democracy and stability the Middle East has ever seen, and in all likelihood, to get the credit for it.

For all of this, Barack Obama owes George W. Bush a tremendous debt of gratitude.

[imnho]

athe path of GWB leads ocer a cliff into a vast abyss. Obama has no need to thank Bush for *** things up in mutiple areas. If anything Bush should say he is sorry to the country for a creating such a mess. Iraq was almost lost because of his poor planning and narrow mindset. If not for the the the 2006 elections he would have stayed with Rumsfiled and Iraq would have been lost.

Our long term allies not have great distrust due to his unwillingness to look before leaping into a war that was unnessary.

[sblake63]

BUSH..... The End Of An Error

Hosanna in the highest
All glory, laud, and honor
Praise God
Hallelujah!



Posted by ms1-1-1 at 09:48 AM : Nov 29, 2008

LOL God has nothing to do with Bush leaving office. Assuming the person Posting this is a fellow Christian, HOW DARE you use words & praise as if what we having coming into the white house is an improvment?

Obama is pro abortion. So your happy Bush will be gone but a baby killer will take his place. Lets crack open the bible is dicuss this before you BLASHPHEME his name any more.

Guess what I am thankful for? Living in a state that didnt vote for this Islamic leaning monster about to take office!

[bjcone8559]

"the Bush administration has laid out, to preside over the greatest blossoming of liberal democracy and stability the Middle East has ever seen"


UNBELIEVABLE!!! THIS GUY MUST BE ON DRUGS!!!

[bjcone8559]

"Imagine all the regimes of the region, unchastened and unimpressed by the U.S. exercise of power, looking for any weakness or advantage to exploit and quite possibly finding it in al Qaeda and its affiliates."


Imagine is Bush had acted responsibly and finished the job with those who attacked us. Imagine if he had held onto the immeasurable good will the world felt for the USA instead of alienating the whole world.

[bjcone8559]

"The prospect of a nuclear-armed Islamic Republic of Iran is one that threatens to upset the pro-democracy, pro-American balance of power Bush has painstakingly created."


Ridiculous!!

The only things Bush has created is a stronger Iran and a stronger al Quaeda.

[bjcone8559]

"With minor policy adjustments that no one will notice, much less begrudge, he can stay past his 16-month deadline and continue to build Iraq as a beacon of democracy and a U.S. ally in the Middle East."


This is the silliest lie that the Bush/Cheney crime cartel has peddled to America. Iraq will NEVER be a democracy! The goal has always been to make it a puppet state, much as Iran was under the Shaw.

[bjcone8559]

"First and foremost, Saddam Hussein-a state sponsor of terrorism, a producer of weapons of mass destruction, a warmonger, and a genocidal maniac-is gone. The threat he posed was a nagging concern to Bill Clinton, but Clinton, lacking the political will or perhaps a good excuse, was content to consider Saddam trapped in a box. George W. Bush didn''t have that luxury. After the September 11 attacks the stakes were raised and Bush understood the world could not tolerate the presence of someone like Saddam, who defied all international challenges and was actively subverting the restraints upon him. "


How does someone this ignorant and uninformed get published... even in a biased, right wing rag? Anyone with as much as a half-a-brain knows that Bush planned to attack this nation long before 9/11. This is a war of choice and for $$$. Surely even right-wing lemmings don''t buy into this.

[bjcone8559]

"He is even reportedly considering allowing the CIA some leeway in interrogation techniques."



Although everyone knows republicans become giddy at the thought of torturing people... this was reported by whom????

[bjcone8559]

"As the transition progresses and Barack Obama''s inauguration draws closer, it''s a good moment to mull the gifts George W. Bush has left for the incoming president. Bush has made the world a better place,"

LMAO!!
This statement is incredible!!

[bombadil4]

Good grief. This is the problem with our 24/7 news mess. Every debate must continue forever to fill air time no matter how patently ridiculous, ignorant, or--in this case-- pathetically hilarious the argument may be. This guy shouldn''t be writing for a grade school year book, let alone a national news site. C''mon CBS, don''t be idiots and don''t hire them either.

[eewrites]

This article really is embarrassing. Untold thousands of Iraqi''s are dead, thousands of American soldiers are dead, tens of thousands are maimed, thousands of Iraqi''s are in exile, billions of dollars are gone, and because America did it, it is somehow a success. I always said George W. Bush will kill all the Iraqi''s but three of them, hold a vote, and say he''s created a successfull democracy. All I can say to the author is, if it was your family member who was killed, I doubt you''d find this God forsaken war worth it. Your premise is a joke.

[catlady1412]

Maybe this guy just wrote this to start a fight! How could anyone be this stupid?!? He is saying the ends justify the means and pretending he does not know we ended up in Iraq for Bush and Cheney''s own personal agendas! Seriously, is this for real? Is this writer really this stupid?

[catlady1412]

Is this some kind of joke?!? This writer is saying that we should all look at the bright side of Bush''s haphazard policies? Has he not noticed all the articles on people being jobless, homeless and going to food pantries? Wow, he just put a bow on p o o p, that''s all!

[prohb]

Wow! What LaLa Land is Mr. Crittenden in? Is he a real person? Is this the standard of the Weekly Standard? You''ve got to be kidding, right? This assessment is something my junior high debate team could destroy with two periods of prep!

[gonzage1]

And, perhaps more important than having practical ideas,
Is Obama''s willingness to stand firm against terrorist threat;
Of all his putatively possessed dispositions, the least discernible--
And that he will do so is by no means a sure bet.

He, his Democratic colleagues, and many ordinary citizens,
Have forgotten that with relatively modest investment--human and monetary--
A few fanatical Islamo-fascists spawned in the mid-East
Managed to inflict immense human and monetary damage on a nation, unwary.

Also, that when someone takes the trouble
To catalog all 9/11-related actions taken by the U.S.,
It will become apparent to Obama et al. that their ire has been misdirected,
I.e., that against Osama%u2019s account, not GW%u2019s, damages should have been assessed.

Those citizens who%u2019ve kept only a good set of books
And accordingly have valid postings of loss versus gain,
Can readily identify sources thereof in the respective columns:
Under %u201CLoss%u201D,Osama bin Laden, under %u201CGain%u201D, GW writ plain.

[centerfall94]

Yes, we can thank GW Bush because his performance was so very bad that it allowed the rout and defeat of the Witch of Wasalia and McSame.

THANKS GW!!!

[allzwell]

What a crock of s**t! Gads, what tripe!

[incog-nito]

Thank you, George W. Bush.

For doing such a bang-up job as to allow the defeat of John McCain.

[sincity_q]

Geez, can''t we put the politics away for one day?

[messiahx4eve]

Mr. Jules Crittenden, have you been hiding somewhere where there is no way to get any type of information other than your manic/depressive delusional mind which you seem to be a self made legend? They have therapy for folks like you that will help you get through your issues virtually med free. Where you and the mind of the bush regime reside, there be monsters.