>>she was dumb and inexperienced and didn't realize the message she was giving Saddam<<
This is an incorrect interpretation. Our ambassador to Iraq at the time was one of the few experts on the Middle East, fluent in Arabic. She detected a plan of Saddam to invade Kuwait and immediately notified the State Department, which sought advice from Bush senior. Bush senior talked to Kansas Senator Dole, who recommended that the U.S. go easy on Iraq because Iraq purchased about $4 billion of Kansas wheat every year. So former President Bush relayed the suggestion to our ambassador, who, despite her own recommendation to get tough with Saddam, dutifully followed orders.
When documents of her subsequent meeting with Saddam were made public, and people realized she was "going easy" on Saddam, she was fired by Bush.
This is an example of everything that's wrong with government when politicians try to solve problems by politics instead of by professionalism. Having worked as a foreign service officer in Muslim countries, I am very concerned about the faulty leadership that creates these problems and refuses to rely on professionals who know how to solve them.
Art Bechhoefer
USAID officer assigned to Turkey, Tunisia, and Indonesia, 1959-1966. |
