The basic problem, as I see it, is the Bush administration's propensity for painting other countries with the evil vs. good paintbrush.
As evidenced by the administration's reaction to the recently published National Intelligence Estimate, which documented that Iran, like Iraq in 2003, had abadoned its program to produce nuclear weapons, once a country has been declared evil by the world's only superpower, no ameliorating evidence will change the Manichean world view that prompted its original designation; nor will its policies be reviewed in light of new evidence.
This is exactly the same mindset that caused the US to ignore the best available intelligence, or to manufacture its own intelligence to support its desired actions, leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. And it will lead to no better outcomes than the Iraqi debacle has produced.
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"I am an agnostic; I do not pretend to know what many ignorant men are sure of."
Clarence Darrow |