Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Seeing Through The Lens

Let's play a little game. The following paras introduce a prominent BBC News story. Without clicking on the link, see if you can guess what the blanked-out word XXXXXXX might be:
US President George Bush's war to eliminate Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq is a graphic example of the law of unintended consequences.

President Bush turned to the Mid-East 'late in the day'
Its outcome, quite apart from the chaos in Iraq itself, has been a fundamental shift in the geo-strategic balance in the Middle East.

Iran is resurgent. Iran's allies like Hezbollah and Hamas are the main beneficiaries of their patron's ascent. And pro-western Sunni Arab regimes are worried.

That at least is the conventional wisdom.

So with the end now in sight for the Bush administration, it seemed like a useful exercise to see how leading XXXXXXX experts view Mr Bush's legacy in the region.
Now click the link. Did you guess it?