The largest hole in George W. Bush's foreign policy is that it is based on misconception. A regime change in a Muslim country will not eliminate, decrease or even make a dent in the behavior of it's Islamic fundamentalist citizens. As recent events have born out, the invasion of a soverign nation, the removal of it's government, and the creation of a democracy does not bring stability in the short term, and things will get even worse in the long term.
Don't assume that I am talking about Afganistan, or Iraq. I am talking about Iran. In 1953, Iran was headed a democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddeq who was deposed in a CIA organized coup. President Eisenhower was unhappy with the delays in Mosaddeq's signing, of all things, an oil agreement. In order to ensure the free flow of inexpensive Iranian oil, the US placed the Shah of Iran in power. In 1979, the Shah was deposed and the hard line Islamic goverment took over, and runs the land even as I write this.
The regime change worked in Iran for a wobbly 26 years, then collapsed in the rise of a popular Islamic leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini . To counter the Islamic fundamentalist government in Iran, the Reagan administration courted Saddam Hussein. Flash forward to the present day, and we are mopping up after our removal of Saddam, and Khomeini's successors in Iran are still giving us fits.
What would the middle east look like today if we had let the democratically elected government of Iran continue on it's way in 1953?
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