President Bush flew to Iraq and addressed some troops on Thanksgiving, a morale boost for service people and excellent PR for a president facing an election next year. A media source said that this dangerous trip warmed the hearts of all Americans.
It did not warm the heart of this American.
The appearance of the president in military fatigues did not make me forget that he had managed to avoid service. His flirtation with danger did not make me forget that he started a war in Afghanistan with cause but without any kind of exit strategy. Our forces control Kabul, but I understand that we have little if any influence in the rest of the country still controlled by local warlords.
I cannot forget that he started a war in Iraq for questionable reasons with no strategy beyond the destruction of a weak Iraqi army. We are involved in a bloody quagmire with only minor international cooperation. We should not have invaded without United Nations support, even if time and compromise were necessary to obtain that support.
I could wish that Bush had planning and strategy of the same high quality as his PR.
Despite the Thanksgiving stunt, which had risk, I cannot see how anyone can look at the lack of closure in Afghanistan and the daily killings in Iraq and consider giving this president a second term.
