Will Bush be remembered as the president who won the Iraq war?

Americans have managed to convince themselves, and others that the Iraq war is being won. It might be true, despite continued terror attacks. If it is, it will be a remarkable turnaround, and certainly a credit to the Bush admistration.

 

If the Iraq war turns out to be a success story however, Condoleeza Rice must get part of the credit. Everyone has forgotten the frosty attitude to America among European allies that prevailed when she became Secretary of State - and the frosty attitude to Israel. Israelis have quickly forgotten the unprecedent support that she organized for Israel during the Lebanon war - despite a very raucous chorus of critics. Israel had the support of the world community for once -- and we blew it. In part, we are now paying the price.

 

Ami Isseroff

 

 

Observation: Anticipated Success in Iraq is Bush legacy - Not Arab-Israeli Conflict

Dr. Aaron Lerner                   Date: 27 November 2007

Recent developments indicate that President Bush can very well expect that he will be able to point to inconvertible evidence of a victory in Iraq that vindicates the broad strokes of the policy he pursued despite all his critics and low popularity ratings.

Already today the very same leading American papers that gleefully engaged in Bush bashing over Iraq have found themselves running glowing reports of progress on the ground.  Developments that only recently would have been considered by many critics of America's presence in Iraq as impossible are now commonplace.

All other things being equal, Mr. Bush can expect to find himself spending the weeks leading up to the November 2008 elections appearing across America at the behest of Republican candidates hoping that his endorsement will assure their victory at the ballot box.

Secretary of State Rice has invested herself greatly in tying herself to the Arab-Israeli conflict.  Be it an incredibly shallow-confused take on the conflict (she seems to think that the situation of the Palestinians is comparable to that of the nonviolent movement of American Blacks who struggled against Jim Crow) or a sense that the Israelis are, ultimately, easy prey for American pressure, Rice's place in history (or lack thereof) is very much a function of what she manages to pull off between the Jews and the Arabs before the end of the term.

The conclusion?

In a way, it depends more on the Israelis as it does on Washington.

It isn't pleasant profoundly disappointing an American secretary of State - but it is hardly the same thing as doing the same to an American president.

Dr. Aaron Lerner, Director IMRA (Independent Media Review & Analysis)