History of Nation Building (Part (23)

When George Bush was a fresh faced, eager beaver, candidate in 2000 he claimed that, if elected, he would not allow U.S. military forces to engage in "nation building." No Sir. The Texan terrorist wasn’t going to follow the false footsteps of Slick Willy in the Balkans (Just point out where they are Condi?).

Well, having laid waste to what we used to call Iraq, we are busy building a nation (or maybe even several) , a constitution and a post propter hoc rationale for starting the whole damn thing.(Maybe we can blame Blair and the Brits ????)

Before the Coalition of the Willing hit the streets of Baghdad , (and many of it’s defenceless citizens) Iraq was a secular nation. Highly westernized, with a well educated elite, but under the iron fist of the US aided Dictator Hussein . Iraq had one of the best water systems in the Middle East. The “socialist” regime provided free education, which according to the UN was the best in the Middle East and there was access for all to a high standard of health care.

Dictator Saddam ? You remember him ? He was the guy who told US Ambassador April Glaspie he was going to invade Kuwait, and she couldn’t get through to the State Department to tell them. Maybe their 'phone service was none too good back then.

Well it wasn’t the only mistake Dubya’s Dad made. Bush's pledge (you may remember) to avoid nation building, was at a debate with Internet Developer, Democrat Al Gore, at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., on Oct. 11th, 2000. At the time the race was neck-and-neck race for the White House (although the Supreme Court was ready to declare the winner) . Bush, short of the kind of overseas experience, short of support , short of foreign policy ideas, tried to turn this to his advantage by identifying himself as a Washington outsider and by branding Gore a member of the capital's entrenched liberal political class.

Bush recalled Daddy’s U.S. humanitarian mission in Somalia -- had "changed into a nation-building mission, and that's where the mission went wrong."

He remembered the deaths of 18 U.S. Army rangers killed in Mogadishu on Oct. 3-4, 1993, after a gun battle and dragged in Victory through the town by what we now have now learnt to call terrorists or insurgents.

"The mission was changed, and as a result, our nation paid a price," Bush said. "And so I don't think our troops ought to be used for what's called nation building."

Bush said those who live in the liberated lands should rebuild them and if elected, would "absolutely not" indulge in nation planning….following on the successes of such efforts in Afghanistan – remember. The military action in Afghanistan was intended not only to bring bin Laden to justice but also to topple the Taliban from power. Now the US is (attempting to ) running the place.

Maybe he has forgotten, but Bush also pledged during that debate "It really depends upon how our nation conducts its foreign policy. If we're an arrogant nation, they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation, they'll respect us."

Remember the deal he brokered with Stalinist Dictator Karimov of Uzbekistan that committed the United States to protect the security of a former Soviet republic? That agreement (long forgotten) shielded the Uzbek government, which permitted U.S. aircraft to operate from its airfields, from retaliation by the Taliban regime. Now Karimov is kicking the US out and handing over the bases to the Russians.

Well, Afghanistan is back in the hands of the warlords and a resurgent Taliban, Somali is a basket case where the Chinese have snook off with the oil, and the US are mired in Iraq, having drained the swamp and are having their ass chewed off by the crocodiles.

George was right, the US should stay outta nation building.

UPDATE

For some reason Google continues to return this site as one showing US soldiers dragged through the Mogadishu Streets, the original source -http://www.masada2000.org/mogadishu.jpg
has long since disappeared. Thanks for your interest go here