Not All Bush Cronies And Associates Are As Enthusiastic About Him As Karl Rove

Allawi & Bush... That was then

It won't be the whitewash by hacks like Karl Rove and Ben Feller that determine how history looks at George Bush. Frank Rich says that "even the banality of evil is too grandiose a concept for" Bush. This morning Reuters carried a report of an interview with former Iraqi Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi-- it wasn't an elected prime minister, not even in a rigged election like Nuri al-Maliki; Allawi was just declared prime minister by the occupation forces. Apparently, apart from having given him the opportunity to enjoy the P.M. job, Allawi doesn't think quite as highly of what Bush has done for his country as Karl Rove does.

Former U.S.-installed Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has denounced the policies of President George W. Bush as an "utter failure" that gave rise to the sectarian venom that ravaged his country.

In an interview published on Saturday in the pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat, Allawi found fault with American management of Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 as well as the government of present Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.

..."Yes, Bush's policies failed utterly," said Allawi, describing the U.S. administration that once backed him. "Utter failure. Failure of U.S. domestic and foreign policy, including fighting terrorism and economic policy."

"His insistence on names like 'democracy' and 'open elections', without giving attention to political stability, was a big mistake. It cast shadows on Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Egypt, and I believe this will be remembered in history as President Bush's policy," he said.

I doubt anything will rehabilitate Bush... ever. Although if the Democrats keep up the shenanigans they will certainly prove to Americans that it is politicians, rather than just Bush and the Republicans who are the bane of society. The real Bush legacy is cheap and tawdry and the tragedy is one we took onto ourselves.