Well, no. Bush had a glorious, golden opportunity in the wake of 9/11 to turn this huge wave of international goodwill into something that could have actually made the world a safer place.
Instead, he did precisely what the terrorists hoped he would do - Bush not only invaded Afghanistan, he lied the country into a breathtakingly stupid and pointless war with Iraq, single-handedly destabilizing the entire region and creating the ideal climate for terrorism to flourish.
The fact that Obama hasn't been able to put the toothpaste back in the tube doesn't mean that it's all his fault - it just means he was unable to clean up the global catastrophe that Bush created in eight years.
So, are you saying that what Bush started is incorrigible?
Perhaps not. If only the politicians have a will to take the right path. Obama clearly doesn't have it.
See also: The Green Lantern Theory of the Presidency. [1]
This is not a get out of jail free card for inaction, but a reminder that just pushing an issue does not create positive action by itself. At this point any action that Obama takes will be resisted by US politicians, perhaps leading to a worse outcome than the status quo.
You haven't actually addressed what I was saying. Let's say all that about Bush is true. It doesn't change the reality that today a terrorist organization, ISIS, operates with impunity in a large swath of land, from which they plan and carry-out global terrorist attacks. I just remarked that this is the exact situation that America after 9/11 swore would never be tolerated. And I guess now it is.
Well, no. Bush had a glorious, golden opportunity in the wake of 9/11 to turn this huge wave of international goodwill into something that could have actually made the world a safer place.
Instead, he did precisely what the terrorists hoped he would do - Bush not only invaded Afghanistan, he lied the country into a breathtakingly stupid and pointless war with Iraq, single-handedly destabilizing the entire region and creating the ideal climate for terrorism to flourish.
The fact that Obama hasn't been able to put the toothpaste back in the tube doesn't mean that it's all his fault - it just means he was unable to clean up the global catastrophe that Bush created in eight years.