Day of Atonement for Bush?

It’s less than 2 months to Bush’s exit from the White House and the out-going president is getting conscious about his place in history. According to a report on the USA Today dated 2 December 2008 (covering Bush’s valedictory interview with Charles Gibson, an ABC journalist), the lame-duck president expressed regret over the false information on Saddam Hussein’s possession of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) which resulted in his launch of the Iraq war “unprepared”.

As we read between the lines, we sense Bush’s attempt to talk himself out of the Iraq war quagmire. He tried to dilute a misdeed or even a felony into a “regret”ful matter. To achieve that, he even resorted to pushing the blame on others. Bush propagated his regret to the world and asked for forgiveness. Bush made such an entreaty wearing multiple hats of moral, righteousness and power primacy, leveraging on his position as the U.S. president. “The thing that’s important for me is to get home and look in that mirror and say, ‘I did not compromise my principles,'” he said. “And I didn’t. I made tough calls. And some presidencies have got a lot of tough decisions to make.”

While the Intelligence failure might be a trigger point for the Iraq war, Bush played a key role as the decision maker, especially in his decision to evade the United Nations framework to declare war unilaterally. For those who lost their lives in the war, Bush’s “regret” should never be forgiven and the man should be tried for war crimes. In this score, the U.S. should learn from Taiwan that sent its ex-President Chen Shiu-Bian to jail for his misdeed. In the same light, Americans should bring Bush to book. (Haha… it is the wishful thinking on the author’s part). This may, once and for all, get rid of the war propensity of American Presidents. (Clinton launched the Yugoslavia War and Bush started the Iraqi War are displays of American Presidents’ proclivity towards aggression) and denude the country of its superpower mindset so as to alleviate all human mankind of the misery and agony of wars.

Objectively, Bush deserved due credit for his proclamation of regret (in a subtle way, over his wrongdoing, political mistake) in the Iraq war. This feat made possible only by courage and conviction. However, why did Bush not order withdrawal from Iraq since he confessed that the war is a misstep? Given that he recognized and even openly admitted the war was a mistake, why did he not apologize to the Iraqi people and appease the spirits of those who lost their lives in the war? There are logical reasons behind these ironies.

First, Bush confessed that the Iraq War was “regret”ful and positioned it as his personal “regret” in his political career, and not a “mistake”. Just like a passer-by who tried to mediate and separate two fighting boys along the street. In stopping the fight, he whacked one of the boys who refused to listen. While the passer-by probably felt bad over hitting the boy, he took consolation in achieving his original intention to stop the fight. He probably considered the beating up of the boy as an oversight instead of a mistake. That is probably how Bush arrived at his “regret” over the Iraq war.

Second, the U.S is, and always is, the overlord of the world (as Americans often see themselves as). As the guardian of the world, the U.S. simply need to graciously acknowledge its mistake when in wrong and move on. No bearing of responsibility. No questioning from the children. The incumbent guardian made a high-profile self-critic to put himself on the moral high ground in a bid to show it off to his successor. Look, I have done good things and bad things. However, I am still a ‘not-too-bad’ guardian because I know what I am doing and I have given myself an accurate and honest review. This stance stood out strongly in Bush’s “come-to-me-if-you-need help” offer to Obama.

Third, Bush’s pray for forgiveness in the Lord (In actual fact, he is begging for forgiveness from the Americans and people around the world) is an unique manifestation of the American culture. Although Bush recognized his fallacy and probably came to terms with the fact that he would be the most unpopular American President in history, he still hopes that the people in the U.S. and around the world do not hate him. He wants to put on the persona of an American president who was forced into circumstances by the calls of his duty. His strong stand on Iraq War is out of the need to guard the interest of his people. He has not sold his soul for political gains and the war has nothing to do with his whim and fancy. He hopes that the Americans could accept his “regret” just as they have accepted Obama as the black president. Will the Americans absolve Bush and allow him to pass all blames to his role as the U.S. president?

Right is right. Wrong is wrong. The people and history will pass their last judgments on Bush.