From Breitbart.com, Mike Huckabee has joined Democrats and gone on the attack against President Bush.
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Mike Huckabee, who has joked about his lack of foreign policy experience, is criticizing the Bush administration's efforts, denouncing a go-it-alone "arrogant bunker mentality" and questioning decisions on Iraq.
Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor now running for the Republican presidential nomination, lays out a policy plan that is long on optimism but short on details in the January-February issue of the journal Foreign Affairs, which is published by the Council on Foreign Relations. A copy of his article was released Friday.
"American foreign policy needs to change its tone and attitude, open up, and reach out," Huckabee said. "The Bush administration's arrogant bunker mentality has been counterproductive at home and abroad. My administration will recognize that the United States' main fight today does not pit us against the world but pits the world against the terrorists."
In one specific criticism, Huckabee said Bush did not send enough troops to invade Iraq. And he accused the president of marginalizing Gen. Eric Shinseki, the Army chief of staff, who said at the outset of the war that it might take several hundred thousand U.S. troops to control Iraq after the invasion. "I would have met with Shinseki privately and carefully weighed his advice," Huckabee said.
As for the "bunker mentality," Huckabee would do well to recall that President Bush came to Washington (perhaps naively and "optimistically") wanting to set a "new tone." He made gracious overtures to the Democrats, even inviting Ted Kennedy to the White House for movies and popcorn. What did he get for his trouble? A drawer full of knives in his back from the Democrats. Having a "bunker mentality" when many of the people around you are out to spill your blood is downright necessary and kinda smart.
I would contend that optimism is the very reason why Bush didn't send more forces to occupy Iraq (we had plenty to invade, too few to control the country). I believe President Bush had too much optimism that the world would united behind the right thing, that they would send additional troops to help, that they wouldn't undermine our efforts to stabilize the country by continual bellyaching and backbiting, that other countries would stand with us to stop foreign terrorists from coming into Iraq as they have from Iran and other places. Bush did not pit the United States against the world; several countries in the world chose to align themselves with Saddam Hussein and with terrorist elements.
But no, Bush expected too much of nations that put their financial interests (Germany, France, Russia, to name a few) ahead of what's right. He expected too much of other Middle Eastern countries that could have benefited from a stable Iraq in the region, but instead couldn't bring themselves to work with an American infidel.
And he was probably too optimistic that certain elements in Iraq would do as most civilized nations do when they're clearly beat: deal with it and move on to rebuild the country. Bush probably expected these certain elements to put the good of their fellow Iraqi countrymen ahead of their thirst for blood.
And Bush was too optimistic about Democrats in our own country. I believe he expected them to do what Americans of all parties used to do in wartime: put aside partisan bickering and pull together for the national cause. He expected them to get behind the troops and present a united, resolved front to international terrorists and other opposition. Bush probably expected all Americans, regardless of party affiliation, to come together and demonstrate to the terrorists that we were not going to allow them to win, instead of constantly giving them hope and encouragement.
So in getting back to Huckabee, since he is far more naive than Bush ever was in recognizing and dealing firmly with evil, I would have to say that the "optimism" that Huckabee might bring to international affairs would be a considerable liability.
When you underestimate evil, people get hurt. When you underestimate evil as a leader in the international community, lots of people get hurt.
Mike Huckabee has already demonstrated, with his overly-optimistic (dare I say cavalier) attitude about evil as governor of Arkansas, with his free-wheeling approach to clemency for dangerous criminals, that he doesn't understand the true nature of evil. His optimism and underestimation of evil cost one or possibly two women in Missouri their lives when he stumped for the release of Wayne Dumond.
In fact, I'm afraid Huckabee's "optimism" could be disastrous on a scale that would make Jimmy Carter's naivete pale in comparison. I remember those years; we don't ever want to go through that again. And incredibly, the world is more dangerous now than it was then.
Informed, intelligent optimism is a good thing. Reckless, blind optimism is dangerous and deadly.
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