BlunderBush

The LA Times has lately been running some highly critical news analysis of the Bush administration. In fact, the Times is out front on a lot of issues pertaining to the mid-east, largely because of its fine expert Robin Wright, who is one of the most insightful analysts of the politics of the region around.

Today, the LA Times has two interesting reviews of the Bush administration’s “diplomacy”, the first being a global analysis of how their blunderbuss technique is perceived both overseas and domestically, and the second is a scathing indictment of Paul Wolfowitz’s obviously inept diplomacy in Turkey:

The World Casts a Critical Eye on Bush’s Style of Diplomacy

By Doyle McManus

“If we’re an arrogant nation, they’ll view us that way,” George W. Bush said during his 2000 presidential campaign. “But if we’re a humble nation, they’ll respect us.”

Little more than two years later, the world’s verdict on President Bush’s diplomacy is split — between critics who see it as arrogant and allies who support its goals but sometimes wonder where the “humble” went.

The leaders of France, Germany, Russia and China, all nations Bush hoped to count as allies in the confrontation with Iraq, have joined to resist the president’s drive toward war, with complaints over what they see as American highhandedness.

Even staunch allies such as Prime ministers Tony Blair of Britain and Jose Maria Aznar of Spain have sent word to Bush that some U.S. bravado — like Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld’s dismissal of “Old Europe” — has done more harm than good.

Bush and his aides, not surprisingly, push back.

“What you have here is a president who is willing to point out what’s right and wrong, maybe sometimes undiplomatically,” said a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

[…]

Can you believe this? I’m going to have to begin to give more credence to the idea that President Gantry actually believes that he has been chosen by God to lead this Crusade. He alone is endowed with the wisdom to proclaim what is right and what is wrong.

This is precisely the kind of provocative fundamentalist sloganeering that plays into bin Laden’s hands while offending the more modern rationalists who make up the moderate muslim factions in the mid-east, not to mention our allies and cultural compatriots in the rest of the world.

They really are two of a kind.

Turkish Vote Is Study in Miscalculation

By Richard Boudreaux

Early last month, Vice President Dick Cheney telephoned Turkey’s prime minister with an urgent message: The Bush administration wanted the country’s parliament to vote within days– just before the Muslim holiday of Bayram– on a request to base U.S. troops in Turkey for an assault on Iraq.

The timing of the pressure struck a raw nerve here, one that was still aching when Turkish lawmakers finally took up the request Saturday and dealt it a surprise defeat. As Turks offered explanations Sunday for this stinging defiance of their strongest ally, tales of American insensitivity were high on the list.

[…]

“The Americans kept giving ultimatums and deadlines, asking Turkey to jump into a barrel of fire,” he said. “They seemed to think we could be bought off, but we had real security concerns about what Iraq would look like after Saddam. They never addressed those concerns.”

[…]

For their part, U.S. officials believed the Turks could not afford to turn them down. On the assumption that Turkish leaders understood this, officials led by Paul D. Wolfowitz, the deputy Defense secretary, kept pressing hard for a decision. When Turkey balked, U.S. officials, in private comments to reporters, often questioned the country’s value as an ally.

“The disinformation campaign against Turkey played a big role in upsetting national feelings,” Erdogan told reporters Sunday.

In the end, Washington tried to bargain for Turkey’s loyalty with the promise of an aid package that would include $6 billion in grants. The deal nearly fell apart last week when Turkey balked at one of the conditions– that it agree to strict International Monetary Fund guidelines for reform of its economy.

By week’s end, the government had accepted the condition, but it had no time to explain and sell the accord to lawmakers, many of whom felt that Turkey had been shortchanged.

“The time pressure put on Turkey did not help the Americans’ case,” a senior Turkish diplomat said, because it forced the government to call a vote prematurely.

It is not surprising, when you think about it, that the Bush administration has little patience for the needs of a democratic country to heed the will of its people. There is a strong undemocratic streak running through the modern Republican party that has been becoming more and more obvious over the last 10 years. They are simply not very attuned to the needs of politicians who feel that they must adhere to the wishes of their constituents. This is just as obvious in the way they are treating elected American representatives as in their treatment of overseas allies.

It’s also another reason why we should not place too much store in their professions of desire for democracy throughout the mid-east. This is one concept where practicing what you preach is truly a prerequisite for requiring it of others.