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Monday, October 24, 2005

Bush I vs. Bush II

The Moose notes the war within the Bush clan.

The key showdown in Washington is no longer between the Republicans and the Democrats, but between the Bushes of Kennebunkport and the Bushes of Crawford. With the airing of Brett Scowcroft's differences with W's foreign policy in the New Yorker, the dispute has become public.

There is a understandable tendency of many of the left to favor Bush I over Bush II, particularly concerning Iraq policy. While the Moose has significant differences with the Crawford clan, he has little sympathy for the Kennebunkport clan.

After all, the Bush I team immorally abandoned the Shiites after encouraging them to revolt following the first Iraq war, allowing them to be slaughtered by Saddam's troops. The Kennebunkport clan refused to intervene in the Balkans which eventually resulted in a broader war in which thousands of innocents lost their lives. And the Bush/Baker/Scowcroft crowd was all too cozy with the Saudis.

There is a danger that progressives will transform themselves into amoral neo-Kissinger realists in reaction to the Crawford Bush clan. That would be an ill-advised abandonment of Truman, Kennedy, Scoop Jackson, Clinton democratic internationalism that promotes American ideals and interests.

Don't let Bush I rage blind you to your principles.
-- Posted at 9:42 AM | Link to this post | Email this post