It's possible to hate Saddam AND not support Bush!

No, I don't care much for Saddam. His list of atrocities is one of the most gruesome in history. I'm glad he's ousted. Saying that does not make me a Bush supporter, nor does it help me rationalize the war. The fact is, Saddam has been Saddam for a long time. America didn't scream bloody murder when he was using poison gas and other deplorable tactics against Iran or his own people. In fact, there are reports that he had US support at that time because he was the lesser of two evils when compared to Ayatollah Khomeini. The only time the US (and by coercion, the rest of the world) took notice of Saddam, was when he threatend the precious oil fields in Kuwait.

It is this two-faced foreign policy that makes America hated all over the world. America is seen as a nation that does what it does only for its own gain and with complete disregard for anyone else. Yet we run around the globe preaching ideals like "democracy" and "freedom". So we either seem stupid and naive, or calculating and manipulative.

Of course we have supporters. I don't doubt there are millions of grateful Iraqis. Unfortunately, as evidenced by 9/11, your enemies will do more to harm you than your friends will do to help you, particularly when you're seen as strong and a bully. So we should work to reduce our enemies, not create new ones. Besides, even those who are grateful we got rid of Saddam remember we also helped him along the way before we tired of him. They know we didn't do it for them, and that he'd still be there, making their lives hell, if it served us. So our motives were not pure and there is no trust. They know we'll drop another Saddam in there in a heartbeat if we thought we'd benefit.

This is why I despise Geroge Bush. He has done nothing to ease the global conscience. In fact, he aggrevated hostilities toward the US. He took the highest level of support our nation has ever enjoyed and made it the lowest. He's shown no integrity in words or actions. He has made America the world's bully. I don't blame him for the pre-war atrocities in Iraq. Those were Saddam. I do blame him for the post-war atrocities though, and for the world being a more dangeous place today than it was before he stole the presidency...