Ronald Reagan Diary: Nakasone Was Japan’s Greatest Prime Minister

I have to respectfully disagree with you there.

In the president’s shoes, anyone could start a war with lots of force and bravado, but to lack the foresight of such actions and their aftermath is very disappointing. We continue to struggle to gain ground in Iraq because plans for the initial “rebuilding phase” did not exist which gave our true opponents enough time to steal any foothold we could have taken.

It is also very easy to make bold moves such as declaring war and showing aggressive force when you yourself are not at risk and have low regard for those who are. This is by no means limited to Bush and his administration as examples can be seen throughout history. Admittedly, there is little that even he could do to change this situation given the role of the President of the United States, but this statement applies to him nonetheless.

Essentially, any 10-year-old can declare war and decide to destroy his enemy as violently as possible, but it’s the ability to anticipate the consequences of your actions and make sound decisions that set apart the truly great leaders from the rest.

While I agree that “bush is no pussy when it comes to war,” he failed to comprehend the complex factors the real world presented beyond the initial strikes and, as a result, has failed to lead his people in any way that I could consider admirable or even respectable.