Australia's Ex-Foreign Minister: 'Swivel-Eyed Neo-Cons' Bankrupted America And Drained Its Military Strength
AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
University of New South Wales Press
He has no such love for the Bush Administration.
Carr described former President George W. Bush, ex-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and Vice President Dick Cheney as "swivel eyed neo-cons and ultra-nationalists. He also accused the Bush Administration of having "bankrupted the country and drained its military strength."
"America, with all its capacity to make calibrated decisions and tease out diplomatic nuance and take a strategic view, allowed itself to be taken over by its pure blood-in-the-eye instincts," Carr wrote of America after the 9/11 attacks.
"A coalition of ultra-nationalists"
The sixty-six year old veteran politician lamented that, within the Bush administration, "a coalition of ultra-nationalists and neo-cons clawed their way into the ascendancy and quickly set off two wars."
Carr spared former Secretary of State Colin Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage from criticism. According to Carr they both opposed the administration's direction.
"The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have been bankrupting disasters for America, both unnecessary," Carr continued.
AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin
"One's got to ponder how America got it so wrong and wonder about accountability for this damage. No one is being held accountable. Yet I can't think of more horrendous errors of judgment since Washington decided to dig in rather than exit Vietnam," he writes.
Days before the 2001 September 11 attacks, Carr said former President Bill Clinton told him, "some people in my country believe America must always have enemies."
"Even before September 11, influential Americans were working themselves up into a frenzy about China," Carr wrote, "all nations suffer pathologies, the great republic being no exception."
- I quit McKinsey after 1.5 years. I was making over $200k but my mental health was shattered.
- Some Tesla factory workers realized they were laid off when security scanned their badges and sent them back on shuttles, sources say
- I tutor the children of some of Dubai's richest people. One of them paid me $3,000 to do his homework.
- Why are so many elite coaches moving to Western countries?
- Global GDP to face a 19% decline by 2050 due to climate change, study projects
- 5 things to keep in mind before taking a personal loan
- Markets face heavy fluctuations; settle lower taking downtrend to 4th day
- Move over Bollywood, audio shows are starting to enter the coveted ‘100 Crores Club’