Bush as Progressive

The 9/11 attacks and the war in Iraq have produced a marked shift in the foreign policy views of the Democrats and Republicans. In pushing for democratization and radical change in the Arab world, Republicans became progressives while Democrats, in their desire to maintain the status quo became conservatives. Peter Berkowitz thinks that success or failure of establishing consensual government in Iraq could have a paradoxical effect on the views of the two parties.

Whatever the outcome, however, it is likely to have paradoxical effects on American political sensibilities. For if the conservative driven experiment in nation building in Iraq enjoys even modest success in the coming years, it will provide long-term nourishment for progressive ideas in America. And if it fails, as many progressive critics of Operation Iraqi Freedom think it is bound to,it will strengthen over the long haul conservative proclivities in America.