Giving Too Much Credit to W

I have noticed some people posting a "motivational poster" of George W Bush entitled, "Vindication".

The people who repost this seem to be more interested with pointing out that Obama's policies have been wrong and Bush's were effective.  But I take the long view on whether our foreign interests as a nation have been served by either of these presidents, and I do not see any cause for celebration when I look at the policies of W.

Much as I prefer Osama Bin Laden dead, neither Obama nor his predecessor have made significant progress to end the War on Terror. And the main reason they can't is because the War on Terror is an anti-concept devised to evade the fact that it is Islam's most consistent exponents which have declared war on the USA and both of them refuse to identify this fact.

Playing terrorist whack-a-mole is not going to end the threat because it doesn't address the fundamental sources of the threat: people willing to fully carry out Islamic ideologies, the people funding teaching and revolutionary action out of Iran and Saudi Arabia -- both, countries whose wealth is funded by oil money, which comes from facilities which were nationalized (i.e. taken by force) from western states in the 1950s.

Unless you objectively identify the nature of your enemy and understand the ideology that makes them possible, you cannot effectively fight a war against anyone. And unless you fight wars with your goal as unconditional surrender of the people fueling and funding the enemy's ideological center, and putting the lives of US soldiers above enemy civilians, you cannot achieve Victory.

Bush started by waging war and ended by nationbuilding because of his "compassionate conservative" ethos. He is a miserable failure as far as US self-interest is concerned. I am forced to despise Bush because he sacrificed american lives to bring democracy to Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which have consititutions which contain terms that they may not contradict beliefs and tenets of Islam.  In essence, Bush has done more to empower and embolden the ideas which seek to destroy and/or subvert the USA.

(Obama has never stood for any such concept as US self-interest. He has been and ever shall be a self-slap-in-the-face as far as the USA is concerned by going around the world and apologizing for our virtues.  I do not feel a need to take up his behavior - Democrats have never agreed with American fundamental principles of Individual Rights)

For those who wish to understand the philosophical causes of our current situation and discussions of possible solutions, I will direct you to a book entitled, Winning the Unwinnable War by Elan Journo.  It covers the matter in detail.