No part of the world, not even the United States, has been more
deeply affected by George W. Bush's presidency than the Middle
East. From the lofty goals of starting a "democratic
revolution," making a "new Middle East," and helping the
Palestinians to have their own independent state, to the bogus
"war on terror," invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, and meddling
in Lebanon, Bush's Middle East policy has been simply one
disaster The reality is that the Middle East is of utmost
strategic importance to the U.S. U.S. involvement in that region
will not end after Bush leaves office in January 2009.
Therefore, as the president's second term is coming to an end,
it is important to consider the results of his Middle East
policy, with the hope the next president will learn valuable
lessons from Bush's many blunders and devise a more constructive
Middle East policy. So let us consider his legacy. If there is
one minor positive outcome of Bush's Middle East policy, it has
to be the removal of Saddam Hussein and his Ba'a