A change in Iran policy?

The World

At his State of the Union address six years ago, President Bush outlined a bold diplomatic policy of being active, rather than reactive�this was the Bush Doctrine. It was the Axis of Evil speech and the war with Iraq would follow. Six years later, the Bush administration is now talking with North Korea and Iran. So is the Bush doctrine dead? The answer is yes, according to this analyst. He says history shows imposing democracy by force doesn’t work. But some like John Bolton argue democracy can be imposed by force. He says just look at Nazi Germany and Japan after WWII. He says the problem is the Bush administration has lost its way and has forgotten its own policy. Bolton said yesterday’s agreement to sit down with Iran is a victory for Iran. But talking to your enemy doesn’t mean you’ve lost according to this analyst. He says just sitting down at the same table with Iran is a return to traditional American foreign policy, and not a reversal of policy. This analyst says perhaps it’s time to have our doctrine reflect the fact of mutually dependent economies.

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