Politicians can only rarely follow through on long-term, big-picture foreign policy plans. The world shifts and changes in unexpected ways, and leaders adjust.
Here, for example, is a now almost unrecognizable George W. Bush during a 2000 presidential campaign debate with Al Gore:
“I’m worried about over-committing our military around the world. I want to be judicious in its use … I just don’t think it’s the role of the United States to walk into a country and say, ‘We do it this way, so should you.’”
9/11 made Bush an imperialist. His successor, Barack Obama, was going to end Bush’s wars, “reset” …read more
Source: iPolitics