Bush’s Innaugural address will be misunderstood by most of the world and will damage the global popular view of America.
His speech was intended to gain support for the war in Iraq among US citizens who are conflicted by the American sacrifices and intentions. Instead, the popular perception in most other nations will probably be that Bush was talking about their own nation: that Americans intend to export their political structure to every nation. Hopefully world leaders will hear the narrower interpretation that is truly an explanation for his actions in Iraq.
This is not America’s war in Iraq, it is the Iraqi war for freedom from tyranny. The methods of the insurgency prove this. America is there to support the Iraqis and help them in their cultural revolution. It will not be easy for them or for us, but Bush is sending a signal that we will be there to support the freedom revolution in Iraq.
The US has learned the hard lesson of letting go: vietnamization was hard, but it is well understood by today’s military that it should have happened sooner. The military will not make the same mistake again.
Dan Von Kohorn 