Shadow Government

A front-row seat to the Republicans' debate over foreign policy, including their critique of the Biden administration.

A Bush administration post-mortem

By Christian Brose So we have a new year, a new blog, a new Foreign Policy, and in just three short weeks, a new foreign policy. I think it’s safe to say that for most people, the end of the Bush administration is like the holidays when you were a kid:  You anticipate it for ...

By Christian Brose

By Christian Brose

So we have a new year, a new blog, a new Foreign Policy, and in just three short weeks, a new foreign policy. I think it’s safe to say that for most people, the end of the Bush administration is like the holidays when you were a kid:  You anticipate it for an entire year (or, for some in this case, eight), and then it finally arrives and you’re so happy you don’t know what to do with yourself. Heck, I was a participant in the past four of these years, and I’m eager to turn the page. The Bush presidency has been emotionally exhausting for America, and the public passions it inspires will take years to fully cool. 

Still, it’s worth trying to reflect as dispassionately as possible on what the past eight years have wrought for U.S. foreign policy, so as to learn from the mistakes while salvaging what of value there is. One way to think about this is: What did Bush get wrong that Obama should get right? And what did Bush get right that Obama shouldn’t get wrong?

I’ll have more to say on this later. Others here will too. Now that we’re all bloggers…

Christian Brose is a senior editor at Foreign Policy. He served as chief speechwriter and policy advisor for U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from 2005 to 2008, and as speechwriter for former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell from 2004 to 2005.

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