by Julie W.
In the wake of the anniversaries of 911 and Katrina it is interesting to reflect on the effect both of these events had on George W. Bush and his administration and how George Bush mishandled and mismanaged both of these occurrences.
First of all, it is interesting to note that both of these events occurred in city's which begin with the word "New" -- as in New York and New Orleans. We often equate the word "new" with new beginnings or a fresh start. And the consensus is that both of these events did give President Bush a new beginning or fresh start as evidenced below.
911 gave to George Bush a new era of respect in the public discourse and psyche after a rocky start due to his election battle for the presidency and seemingly being given the "throne" by Republican Supreme Court Justices, and thereby being called by many "an illegitimate president". However for many it seemed that after 911, President Bush was presented with a "new" and tremendous opportunity to bring the nation and world together, but instead he tore it apart and got us into a war in Iraq, which now he has erroneously labeled "War on Terror."
On the other hand, Katrina began a new era of disrespect and disillusionment of President Bush, and enabled us as a nation to question out loud, without seeming to be disloyal to our country, the policies of Bush and his administration and our occupation in and of Iraq. The aftermath of Katrina gave the world a "new" beginning to come together and to "dethrone" George Bush who had horribly mishandled the job he was given after 911, that of unity and world peace. Katrina gave journalists and others a new beginning -- a green light -- to say and to begin to report the obvious truths on Bush's mismanagement of life after 911 and their mismanagement of Katrina, all without feeling and being called "unpatriotic."
We began to question why after 911, and our entry in Iraq to so call "SAVE" the people, and after billions of dollars being spent on the reconstruction of Iraq, why there is still so little viable and visible construction accomplished in the region in the basic necessities of electricity, water, oil pipes, schools, hospitals, roads. And why are Iraqi citizens afraid to leave their homes -- to go out to shop, work, and just plain ordinary discourse. Why are reporters told not to go out on their own to interview people but have to stay embedded with the troops to do their interviews? Why? Because IRAQ IS MORE OF A MESS, both physically and psychically, because of our presence there and because we were given Words without Deeds.
Yes, 911 helped George Bush lead us into Iraq and Katrina's dethroning of George Bush will help to lead us out. Our troops have done their job and it is time to get out of the way, take the training wheels off, and let Iraq begin a "new" cycle on its own.
A BUZZFLASH READER CONTRIBUTION