Wow! The last “Front Porch,” which took the Bush administration to task for its domestic policies, generated more response than any other “Front Porch” piece.

You will recall, I hope, that the main point was that an “ill wind” was blowing from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., trying to move the country dramatically and systematically to the right, erasing more than 60 years of effort by both Republican and Democratic administrations.

This “Front Porch” insists that the same “ill wind” is behind American foreign policy.

I am not one to say, “I told you so,” but if I were, I would remind everyone that there were some of us who claimed in the 2004 election that the Iraq war was wrong-headed from the get-go. Apparently, now the American public agrees. Recent polls show 60 percent of citizens believe the war is a mistake and it is being mishandled. They are correct – just a year late!

I will not go into detail, because we know the narrative if we read and listen, don’t we?

We were lied to about the reasons for the invasion. We went into the war with too few troops. We went into it against the advice of most of our allies. We thumbed our nose at the United Nations. The myth of the coalition has been laid bare. America’s standing in the world has plummeted. We torture people, and we admit it – how did we become a nation of torturers in defiance of the Geneva Conventions? The Islamic world deeply mistrusts us or is engaged in Jihad against us. What a colossal mess! There has been an election, and that is positive, but remember, an election does not a democracy make! In spite of promises that the insurgency is on its last legs (Cheney), it is clear that they are stronger and may go on for many years (Rumsfeld says up to 12).

There is no exit strategy. Bush says we will leave when the Iraqis can take care of themselves. We should understand that training soldiers is one thing, but building a defense capability with adequate infrastructure is another story. The former might happen in a year or two, but the latter will take as many as five years.

In all of this, we are continuing to be pretty much isolated except for the Brits. That is not a good position for us on the international stage – it makes other significant national security issues difficult to advance with credibility.

My personal take on this is that Mr. Bush took the country to war for a tangled web of personal and political reasons supported by our interest in oil in the Middle East. I am not sure he really understands the reasons, and I fear he begins to believe the speeches written for him. Iraq is clearly the worst foreign policy disaster in a century for this country – right up there with Vietnam.

America’s role in the world is now broadly suspect, except for the relationship we have with Tony Blair.

Historic ties to European states have been shattered in spite of the requisite photo-op smiles by world leaders at major summits out of deference for our power. Our stock in the U.N. is at an all time low. Bush’s actions suggest a profound disrespect for the body. His nomination of John Bolton to the post of U.N. ambassador merely underscores his disdain for the organization. Worse, it suggests a basic disregard, indeed anathema, for the historic art of diplomacy. It makes clear again that the neo-cons have taken over foreign policy with their demands that the rest of the world behave as we wish – no questions asked! Mr. President, it will not happen. Read some history!

The president declares the Darfore region a genocide. He is correct. But, as Clinton did with Rwanda, so Bush does in this region of Africa. He turns his head away while he spends more that $300 billion in Iraq. I wonder if there is a connection between the two African genocides and our relative passivity. Could it have anything to do with race?

Let’s quickly shift to another part of the world – North Korea. Inflexibility in our diplomacy leaves those six party talks stalled. Does anybody really believe that Iraq was a greater threat than North Korea? If so, well, what can I say?

Perhaps the greatest threat to our safety is nuclear proliferation. There is a non-proliferation treaty which also requires the destruction of significant stockpiles in the U.S. and Russia. We are dragging our feet and we have become a major impediment to the advancement of protocols under the treaty. Thank you, Mr. Bolton and Mr. Bush.

Don’t forget to put into this mix important economic developments. They often drive foreign policy – oil seems to drive ours. The U.S. has the worst trade imbalance ever, and the dollar is not in great shape. China has a bid on the table to buy a major American oil company. This administration seems to be oblivious to these and other important economic changes such as the global economy. Iraq trumps all!

At the base is a fundamental problem of credibility. The world does not trust us – and with good reason! Mr. Bush proclaims his commitment to freedom and democracy and his rhetoric may have helped in some places around the world such as Georgia and Lebanon. But as long as Bush applauds and cavorts with Saudia Arabia, Pakistan, and Uzbekistan, for example, the call to freedom and democracy has a hypocritical ring to it for many on the international stage.

Let’s hope that the midterm elections will help to change the “ill winds” blowing across the globe from Washington.

Two final unrelated points. Kudos for the Auburn School Department for sponsoring a very successful public forum on race in the schools – and thanks to the large number of community members who showed up. Lewiston has made strides on improving the gateways to the city, but there is a real problem not difficult to fix on Main Street between Lincoln and Canal streets. Can’t we just clean up the looks of those vacant lots? They detract from the very nice gateway monument on the corner of Main and Lincoln!

Jim Carignan is a retired educator who lives in Harpswell. His e-mail address is [email protected].