Letters From A Tory Daily views on British politics and the Conservative Party from a centre-right thinker who writes letters on his blog to politicians, journalists and many others.

Dear George Bush,

Watching your last ever press conference as President was a strange affair.  Coupled with the unbridled joy that in a few days time you will out of our lives forever was the nagging feeling that you still don’t get it.  After everything that you have said and done, you were there fighting to the last, hoping to portray ’strength’ but ending up displaying an astonishing level of ignorance and self-adulation instead.  To this day, I have no idea how your mind works or whether it works at all and this world will be a better place without you in charge of the USA.

Quite incredibly, you insist that America has retained its standing on the international stage despite heavy criticism on a number of occasions throughout your Presidency.  I can only conclude that you are either intellectually incapable of understanding the implications of your foreign and domestic policies or you are simply in denial.  Despite the damning investigations that emerged in the post 9/11 landscape, you have the nerve to cite the prevention of a second catastrophic terrorist attack in America as a crowning achievement of your Presidency.  You vociferously defended your record on the ‘war on terror’ and the use of this ‘war’ to destroy civil liberties in America, something which you are evidently proud of.  You barely made any reference to the fact that you will leave behind a US economy in tatters and unfortunately your memory is apparently not capable of stretching as far back as Hurricane Katrina, a civilian disaster of terrifying proportions to which your response was woefully inadequate. 

When asked if the war in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib had harmed America’s international standing, you said that “it may be damaged among some of the elites but people still understand that America stands for freedom, that it’s a country that provides such great hope.  You go to Africa, you ask Africans about America’s generosity and compassion – go to India … go to China and ask. Now, no question parts of Europe have said that we shouldn’t have gone to war in Iraq without a mandate, but those are a few countries.”  Hmmm.  Not sure I agree with that one, George.  If anyone in your administration thinks that America is still respected or admired as a global power after your Presidency, you are very much mistaken.  To cite China as an example of a pro-America nation is just too surreal for words while dismissing France and Germany’s opposition to the Iraq war is a low blow, knowing what we know now.  The reputation of America has been shattered thanks to a combination of liberal interventionism, deceit and bungling incompetence.  The US will not recover from your disastrous approach to international affairs for years, possibly decades.

Admittedly, you sneaked a few regrets as well.  ”Putting ‘Mission Accomplished’ on an aircraft carrier was a mistake”, referring to the banner displayed shortly after Saddam Hussein had been removed from power.  Even though you also admitted that “Abu Ghraib was a huge disappointment [and] not having WMD was a significant disappointment”, you didn’t condemn what happened in Abu Ghraib nor did you admit that your justification for the invasion of Iraq was a pack of lies.  All in all, your press conference was a perfect microcosm of your Presidency: a false portrayal of strength, refusal to accept facts, ignorance, arrogance and an inability to understand the implications of your actions.  You took a moment to compliment Barack Obama, describing him as “smart and engaging” and also “a much better speechmaker than me”.  I seriously hope that he is a better President than you as well.  You’re right that “there’s still an enemy out there that would like to inflict damage on Americans”, and you should take pretty much all the responsibility for that.

Yours disrespectfully,

A.Tory