Letter: Mideast move makes mockery of U.S. policy

Monday, April 8, 2002 | 9:04 a.m.

Some Republicans immediately brand anyone who dares criticize, or even question, President Bush's handling of world affairs as anti-American and unpatriotic. Republican tactics notwithstanding, sometimes criticism is necessary, important and deserved.

For example, President Bush says he will stop at nothing to fight terrorism, yet he tells Israel they must show restraint. Bush says he wants bin Laden "dead or alive," yet tells Israel they must not harm Arafat. Bush says he will go after terrorism wherever it exists yet, through a vote in the United Nations, tells Israel they must withdraw from an area that Bush, himself, knows terrorism is emanating from on a daily basis. Bush says he will not allow terrorists to threaten our way of life yet stands by and allows Israel to accept an attack-a-day on their way of life.

Bush's foreign policy is inconsistent, confusing and lacking in credibility. He is practicing double-standard diplomacy and making a mockery out of his own Bush Doctrine, which says if you harbor, aid and abet terrorists the Bush administration will make you pay the price for doing it.

During the '92 presidential campaign, President Bush, the father, said his dog Millie knew more about foreign policy than "those two bozos" Clinton and Gore. Since President Bush, the son, has been in office we, the world's greatest super power, must consult a childlike color-coded chart to find out whether it's safe to get out of bed of if we need to hide under the covers.

All this makes me wonder just who the bozo is now.

JOYCE SEGAL