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> This continuity can be explained by the “double government” theory It could also be explained by Obama and Bush sharing similar philosophies on the security
by Chathamization 10y ago
> This continuity can be explained by the “double government” theory
It could also be explained by Obama and Bush sharing similar philosophies on the security state, and there's a lot of evidence that supports that. That's not to say that the agencies aren't problematic, but rather that elected officials have been mostly happy with what they're doing, and that this is the reason why they keep doing it.
Where there were differences in policy between the administrations, we did see a change - for instance, in the use of waterboarding. It's just that these differences weren't as numerous as many people assumed.
- jn1234 10y agoOr that Bush realized the folly of his foreign policy and dramatically changed it in the later part of his term after the shitshow in Iraq.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- ENTP 10y agoMy understanding was that Iraq was less about real foreign policy and more about his dad's "unfinished business", hence all the nonsense surrounding legitimacy of invasion.
- moomin 10y agoI remember an Econmist article about Obama before he took the reins that said that, whilst his outlook was different and his tactics might sometimes differ, the fact remained that he would continue to serve American interests and that would disappoint a lot of external observers. However far apart they were (and they were pretty far apart), Bush and Obama mostly agreed about what the challenges facing the nation were. There's plenty of evidence that Trump doesn't share that common ground.
- glitchdout 10y ago> It could also be explained by Obama and Bush sharing similar philosophies on the security state, and there's a lot of evidence that supports that. Like this video from 2007? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BmdovYztH8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BmdovYztH8