Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Ending Tyranny - John Lewis Gaddis - The American Interest Magazine:
"Suddenly, it seemed, there might be an opportunity to speed up history: The Taliban had collapsed, after all, with only a slight push. So Bush and his advisers began planning to fight a war against terrorism by democratizing the Middle East, the one part of the world where that system had not yet taken root. Toppling a few more tyrants might be all that it would take to get this process going."

Despite being factually inaccurate (the Taliban did not collapse and Bush and his advisers began planning to invade Iraq in early 2001), these statements are so wholly clueless and wholly arrogant and incredibly and cruelly naive as to defy belief. Yes, let's just topple a few more tyrants and get this whole "process" started shall we? It's such a grand game isn't it? My we are such wonderful people!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why do so many people even think this is a good essay to begin with?

George W. Bush and the Gaddis Doctrine

Anonymous said...

Another critic:
"Gaddis could use a heavy dose of Niebuhrian humility."