by Jerry Curtis

Created on: July 04, 2007

George Bush will be remembered as a visionary. At this writing, given his low approval ratings, it would appear that many in America and throughout the world would not agree. However, a president's legacy normally does not come into focus until a few years after he (and, hopefully, someday she) leaves office. George Bush's legacy, therefore, will, in my opinion, be his visionary approach to the war on terror.

George Bush's vision is that this is a long-term, global struggle that must be approached differently than before. Before, we regarded terrorism as another challenge to law enforcement, which presumably gave terrorists access to the same American judicial system that now allows O.J. Simpson his 9:00 a.m. tee time every day. George Bush's vision is that we are at war and that we use the armed forces rather than the services of the likes of Jacques Cousteau to chase terrorists.

His vision on fighting the war on terror is also encapsulated with his warning that countries who harbor and support terrorists are no better than terrorists and can expect adverse action from the United States.

Sadly, the trauma and shock of September 11, 2001, has worn off, and Bush's success in preventing a similar attack appears to have eroded that vision among the public, both foreign and domestic. Nevertheless, President Bush has remained steadfast, even in the face of horribly slipping popularity.

However, our great success in Afghanistan will outlive the temporary unpopularity of our effort in Iraq. During the 1980's, Afghani fighters fought the Soviet army to a standstill. The American effort following September 11, 2001, was the polar opposite. We drove the Taliban to ground, dismantled and vanquished a vicious Islamofascist government and established a popular and stable government that functions today. The foregoing was with the help and current ongoing support (of varying degrees) of some of our NATO allies.

George Bush applied his visionary, zero tolerance approach to preventing weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of those who would use them on us in a laser-like fashion on Saddam Hussein. Hussein miscalculated our resolve and lived to regret his mistake. Unfortunately, in Bush's eagerness to obtain consensus and approval from the U.S. Congress (in which he was successful) and from the United Nations (in which he was not), he gave Hussein sufficient time to move and further conceal Iraq's chemical and biological weapons. Bush likewise miscalculated the zeal of Iraq's old guard and how Iraq would draw outside terrorists and fighters to the post-war chaos of a sectarian and fractured Islamic mess.

Nevertheless, and, as stated above, in the face of slipping approval and the loss of his party's majority in both Houses of Congress, Bush has remained stubbornly fixed to his vision. His hopes are for a functioning, secular democracy (Iraq) in the heart of the middle east to serve as a contrast and alternative to religious fanaticism and sectarian civil war.

Whether this all turns out to be visionary or wrong-headed stubbornness, only time, and the perspective that time gives us, will tell.

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