"NEW STRATEGY"?:

Bush with a new axis to grind (Jim Lobe, 11/07/03, Asia Times)

In what the White House billed as a major address, President George W Bush on Thursday announced that the United States has adopted a new policy he calls "a forward strategy of freedom in the Middle East".

The speech, which comes amid growing public and congressional unease about the costs and duration of the US occupation of Iraq, appeared designed to rally support by casting the occupation as part of an historic mission by Washington to spread liberty and democracy around the world.

But independent analysts warned that Bush's sweeping rhetoric could backfire, both by fueling concerns about his administration's larger regional ambitions and by creating expectations that are unlikely to be met, even in Iraq. [...]

While his remarks no doubt gave heart to neo-conservative hawks dispirited by recent setbacks in Iraq, the fact that Bush announced no new programs to back up his soaring rhetoric was noted privately, even by NED staffers who gave him a warm welcome.

Mr. Lobe has been among those most ecstatic about the difficult post-war period and has been writing weekly about the collapse of the neocon vision--yesterday was obviously a terrible shock.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 7, 2003 11:02 AM