I will only add that what makes Iraq particularly sad is that it was completely avoidable and voluntary. He had to go to great lengths to make this mistake.

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?

While I would agree that our Iraq misadventure has been less bad than, say, the Black Death, Mongol Invasion, attack by Cylons, aren’t we setting the bar a little low here? Talk about the soft-bigotry of low expectations…

The fact that he has almost banrupted this country, wasted its political capital worldwide, and hollowed out our military force in military misadventures also has obvious foreign policy implications. That should count for something surely.

You’ve provided a list, fair enough.. First, I’d note that it’s really quite small when you look at it.. Russia is upset with us and Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran are stronger and separatism is on the rise… Assuming that all these are true, is it all that bad of a record compared to past presidents? I say no.

Re: separatism: that’s the way things are moving in the world and Bush has identified it and seen that it is a good thing and works to our advantage. Why shouldn’t the Shi’a rule where they are the majority? Why shouldn’t power devolve down to smaller constituent parts? Hasn’t the arbitrary construction of states and nations in Africa and the Middle East been a disaster?

Hamas and Hezbollah are the gov’s of the people whether we like it or not.. Opposing them opposes the majority of the populations and is a losing game…

As to why Bush’s been good… Well, I’d point to the consolidation of the Anglosphere and the addition of India and hopefully soon Iran. And, I’d dispute that we are less secure than we were…

What day is it? It’s always Groundhog Day, 1938!

What else has Mr. Bush damaged? Let us see….

Objectively, our relations with Russia are demonstrably worse. We invaded another country without just cause and alienated a good three-quarters of the globe doing it. Our Pakistan policy, so called, has been a bad joke, and has tied us to one of the more unpopular of their unpopular dictators, while simultaneously straining what should otherwise be a promising relationship with India. Washington hasn’t completely dropped the ball on the relationship with India, but it hasn’t cultivated it nearly well enough. The Near East is far less stable, far more dominated by Iran and our allies are less secure than they were when he took office, and a good part of this can be traced to his decision to invade Iraq. If Mr. Bush somehow gets credit for Sarkozy’s election, which I would dispute, it’s worth noting that Sarkozy now thrashes around in newfound impotence, while the adamantly “pro-American” Tony Blair was ousted and the “pro-American” Angela Merkel has gone out of her way to thwart the ludicrous schemes of Mr. Bush to incorporate Ukraine and Georgia into NATO. Thank goodness Merkel did, or else I could add that to the list of his terrible decisions. Never mind that these “mostly rightist leaders” have been elected largely on domestic political grounds, while Zapatero continues to govern in Spain, elevated in the wake of the Spanish people’s repudiation of Aznar’s close alliance with Bush over Iraq and his cynical exploitation of the train bombings. The previously sycophantic Tory leaders of the past are gone, replaced by Cameron, who is quite happy to thumb his nose at us when he will (which is probably ultimately for the best, but is also a clear rebuke to Mr. Bush and the servile relationship Tory leaders had with the GOP). Oh, yes, and he recognised Kosovo as an independent state, which has been and will continue to worsen separatist crises around the world. The genius also promoted elections that empowered Hamas and actively encouraged Israel in a counterproductive and failed war in Lebanon that empowered Hizbullah. I’m sure I’m forgetting some things, but there have been so *many* failures that it does become difficult to keep track. Let us turn the question around: in what way has Mr. Bush’s foreign policy been good or successful?

Certainly not the installation of pro-American and mostly rightist leaders in Europe and Australia…

The occupation of Iraq (and not the invasion or removal of Sadaam) was and is a mistake but other than that, what’s the problem? Historically, Iraq is not the WORST THING THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED EVER EVER!!!!! so many portray it as…