U.S. Has Long History of Waging Wrong Wars
George W. Bush, according to author and columnist Max Boot, is a "hard Wilsonian" — a president who "successfully wields power in the service of a higher purpose."
This label means using our armed forces not just to defend the United States but to solve the problems of the world.
How did Woodrow Wilson (search) become an inspiration for U.S. foreign policy? In 1913, Wilson proclaimed, "I am going to teach the Latin American republics to elect good men," and he dispatched soldiers to Mexico, where one president had been overthrown and another assassinated. Wilson failed to install a good government, he failed to catch the bandit Pancho Villa (search) who had raided U.S. border towns, and he made enemies throughout the hemisphere.
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If, in the name of fighting terrorism and reforming the world, the U.S. embarks on a policy of perpetual war, its ability to fight as effectively as possible when it really counts will be undermined. Already, the armed forces have had difficulty conducting operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq. There's much concern about enlistment rates for a volunteer army because of the Pentagon's "stop loss" orders forcing tens of thousands of soldiers to remain on active duty perhaps a year longer than they had bargained for.
In addition, the U.S. invasion of nuke-free Iraq and its restraint with nuke-armed North Korea send a signal that other nations should secretly accelerate efforts to acquire nuclear weapons since they deter U.S. intervention. U.S. actions encourage the nuclear proliferation it is intended to prevent.
Woodrow Wilson left a legacy of trouble.
The Princeton Prof... Rule by pointy-heads (and their precedents) is always so helpful.
Want a list?
Adams: how about those Alien and Sedition Acts? Damn near got us into a war with France.
Jefferson: set the stage for the War of 1812.
Madison: fought it reluctantly and poorly.
Wilson you just read about.
Hoover: led us into the Great Depression.
Carter: almost led us into another Great Depression, and would have if we'd let him.
Those were the sharpest minds that the American People have elected President. Did I miss anybody?
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