Washington: As American armed forces move into Iraq, President George W Bush has in
mind more than changing a country - his dream is to make the entire Middle East a
different place, Democratic and one safer for American interests, a leading daily
said on March 21.
"The vision" said 'The Wall Street Journal', "is appealing, a region that, after a
regime change in Baghdad, has pro-American governments in the Arab world's three
most important countries - Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia."
"In the long run, that changes the dynamic of the region, making it more friendly to
Washington and spreading Democracy. Reducing the influence of radicals helps make
Palestinians more amenable to an agreement with Israel."
It is a dream that has grown slowly over the last half dozen years, says
the 'Journal', adding Bush embraced the idea post-September 11. The seeds were first
sown by a small group of neo-conservative thinkers in policy think-tanks during the
Clinton administration.
One of the places the idea was born was the Project for the New American Century, a
fledgling and unnoticed neo-conservative think-tank, in 1998. It told Clinton the
time had come to depose Saddam Hussein.
"The only acceptable strategy is one that eliminates the possibility that Iraq will
be able to use or threaten to use weapons of mass destruction. In the near term this
means a willingness to undertake military action. In the long term, it means
removing Hussein from power," the group's director, former intelligence official
Gary Schmitt said in a letter to Clinton.
At that time, the organisation had one staffer and an intern but it managed to get
its message signed by 18 national security hawks.
PTI
