Joshua Horton

Before September 11, 2001, the Bush Administration seemed to be taking foreign policy into a period of isolationism. One of the issues the President campaigned on was troop reductions around the world and being more judicious in deciding when and where to use our military.

On that sad day two years ago, all of that changed. In the days that followed, our new foreign policy was summarized into one phrase, “You’re either with us or against us,” otherwise known as the Bush Doctrine.

In that moment, the foreign policies of every president before Bush were thrown out the window. Our foreign policy was now directly tied to our military and homeland security. This has led to one of the most dangerous periods in American history.

Immediately following 9/11, many leaders from around the world pledged their support for America. In the months that followed, the Bush Administration created a broad coalition of nations from around the world that followed America into Afghanistan to remove Al-Qaeda and the Taliban regime.

Following the operation in Afghanistan, the Bush Administration spoke of an “Axis of Evil” that included North Korea, Iran, and Iraq.

Many of our allies abandoned their support for our new “war on terror” with the feeling that it had now become a justification to remove governments of other nations that we did not respect.

Here at home, the Administration talked about weapons of mass destruction and how these countries would give them to Al-Qaeda and other terrorists to use against us.

Only now are we finding evidence that the Administration misled the American public to justify an invasion of Iraq. I am speaking of the mis-intelligence the President used in his State of the Union Address. The confusion is evident in a recent poll that found that 70% of American believe that Saddam Hussein had something to do with 9/11, when no evidence can be found to support that accusation.

Our allies have been few. Even at home, support has significantly dwindled, as Bush’s approval ratings are at their pre-September 11th levels.

This Administration has alienated its major allies. Its foreign policy has broadened the attack front for terrorists, giving them targets in the Middle East. It has fueled Al-Qaeda’s recruitment by occupying a Muslim nation. It has led to new alliances between Saddam loyalists and Al-Qaeda, something we wanted to prevent.

Appropriate action was taken in Afghanistan, but Iraq is another story. We do not have a foreign policy, just a hit list.