Fukuyama & Bush

Francis Fukuyama is a well-known academic, especially in political science circles because he is considered one of the "founding fathers" of the neo-conservative movement that has come to dominate the Bush administration. Guess who he will be voting for in November? It's not George...

Zaman reports:

In addition to distancing himself from the current administration, Fukuyama told TIME magazine that his old friend, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, should resign. In 1997, Fukuyama together with Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz and Jeb Bush, signed a declaration entitled 'The New American Century Project'. That declaration set the groundwork for the neo-conservative movement.

Fukuyama began to distance himself from the administration during the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. The tension between the two came to a head prior to the invasion of Iraq. Fukuyama opposed the war. Fukuyama is still angry at the Bush administration since they refuse to admit to the mistakes they have made. Fukuyama had warned that after the war, Iraq would be dragged into an internal conflict and would export terror to the world.

Fukuyama‘s complaint seems to be one that is echoing throughout conservative circles: even if the Iraq invasion was justified, the Bush administration did not do enough planning for how to win the peace that would come after. Just as bad is the fact that they have refused to admit that any mistakes were made in this regard — they continue to insist that nothing has gone wrong and that they have no regrets about any of their (in)actions.

This sort of hubris is rather inexcusable. Everyone makes mistakes, but a refusal to even acknowledge one’s mistakes, guaranteeing that they won’t learn and will probably make them again, is a good reason to regard someone as manifestly unfit for public service or any sort of position with significant responsibility.

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