The Bush administration used premeditated, fabricated intelligence to start the illegal occupation of Iraq and war with Afghanistan, bizarre legal doctrines alleging that the president is allowed to ignore federal and international law, Guantanamo, extraordinary rendition, torture, draconian legislation purposely designed to be used against American citizens in the destruction of civil liberties and rights, illegal wiretapping and spying on American citizens, blackmail and extortion to allow throwing billions of dollars at executives who committed worse financial crimes than Enron at more cost to the U.S. taxpayer and so much more, with Congressional blessings.
Promises of change helped elect Barack Obama to the presidency. Several of the choices he has made while putting together his transition team raise questions as to whether change will actually come to Washington — and if the people responsible for the past eight years of crimes carried out against America as well as the rest of the world will be punished and held accountable — or if a President Obama will prove to be another typical Washington establishment politician.
Obama’s foreign policy team reportedly appears to be an extension of the Clinton Doctrine, filled with 20 hawks, Clintonites and neocons who were top players in creating and implementing foreign policies that paved the way for projects that were eventually carried out by the Bush administration. Obama’s Cabinet is being filled with numerous longtime Washington insiders responsible for a lot of the crises this country is facing today. Obama’s nominee for Attorney General has been a big Bush policy supporter. Other cabinet posts aren’t faring much better.
President Obama will have his hands full when he takes office. It could take years to sweep all the trash left behind by the Bush administration out the door and disenfect the White House. Let’s hope Obama knows what he’s doing. In many ways Obama is your typical Washington establishment politician and unfortunately it appears that he may not vary much from Bush’s political path and we don’t need any more of Bush politics as usual.