Former President George W. Bush gave a speech Thursday night warning of the dangers of isolationism, comments which seem to be sharply juxtaposed with President Donald Trump’s exit of the Iran nuclear deal earlier this week.
Quoting Winston Churchill, Bush said: “One cannot rise to be in many ways the leading community in the civilized world without being involved in its problems, without being convulsed by its agonies and inspired by its causes.”
He added that “people of the United States cannot escape world responsibility.”
Watch below:
When W makes sense…
I’m sorry, but really. In two days we’ve had advice on foreign policy from W, and advice on torture from Cheney. I think we’ve had quite enough from them both on these and any other topics.
“One cannot rise to be in many ways the leading community in the civilized world without being involved in its problems, without being convulsed by its agonies and inspired by its causes.”
Well, George, you paved the way with your stupid, criminal, incompetently managed, brutal invasion of Iraq. When you shoulder some of the blame, then maybe–maybe–we’ll listen to you.
Trump’s foreign policy is exactly what you would of a lone wolf real estate developer. His is a unitary vision of the world. Unitary thinkers, kings, queens, princes, dictators and real estate tycoons have been supplanted by people with a collective vision. Along comes Trump. He doesn’t understand the world has evolved. The 18th century is long over. Empires have given way to bigger and stronger organizations that don’t recognize isolation. At the end of the time of empires the United States emerged as world leader. Trump is pissing that role away, mostly because he doesn’t understand it