10 years on from 9/11, the verdict on Bush's legacy?

[DTCwordfan]

When the infamous George Shrub (little Bush) ceded office, there was considerable debate on whether he would be perceived as a great President, an ok one or one of the worst there has been. I was Stateside at the time and I suppose the debate ran long and hard here in the UK too.

I refer to one of the reasonings that appeared in the UK press by the historian-cum-journalist, Andrew Roberts, who argued that he could already be seen in a better light.

"The decisions taken by Mr Bush in the immediate aftermath of that ghastly moment will be pored over by historians for the rest of our lifetimes. One thing they will doubtless conclude is that the measures he took to lock down America's borders, scrutinise travellers to and from the United States, eavesdrop upon terrorist suspects, work closely with international intelligence agencies and take the war to the enemy has foiled dozens, perhaps scores of would-be murderous attacks on America. There are Americans alive today who would not be if it had not been for the passing of the Patriot Act. There are 3,000 people who would have died in the August 2005 airline conspiracy if it had not been for the superb inter-agency co-operation demanded by Bush
after 9/11."

Open for debate here. Is he better perceived when we take emotion out of the argument and the fact that he was a lousy uncoordinated speaker, and when we look at such legacy?

What are your views on the secret man, the puppet-meister perhaps, Dick Cheney?

Now this should see some lively debate.....

[rov1100]

If its the war on terror he has failed miserably. The trouble his wars have not driven the terrorists into oblivion but increased the threat level which we are all now living under.

When its comes to the economy he has changed the US with a very large surplus into one that has a huge debt.

You could say the two are linked.

[jno]

he seems to have done exactly what bin Laden would have wanted, turning America from an open society into a surveillance society.

In invading Iraq he did what Iran would have wanted (and his "information" about WMDs may well have come from Iranian spies pretending to be Iraqi dissidents).

Plus the budget surplus left by Clinton turned into a deficit of somewhere round $500 billion.

Doesn't sound like much of a legacy to me.

[jno]

just found this, and I agree with it

http://www.slate.com/id/2302949/

[rov1100]

Did you know over 90% of Afghans are unaware of the attack on the twin towers. No wonder they think the US prescence in Afghanistan is one of hostile intent and not for revernge. Source: RT.

[Gromit]

Is RT, The 'Russia Today' Television Channel?

You believe that?

[DrFilth]

if this was in the crossword section that would be radio times gromit

[jno]

42% of the Afghan population is under 14, so that's a fair few who wouldn't be expected to know much about a terror attack around the other side of the world.