- WASHINGTON (AP) -- US foreign
policy had derailed under President George W. Bush, making the US more
vulnerable and stirring resentment abroad, a leading critic of the administration
said today.
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- Billionaire businessman and philanthropist George Soros
accused the Bush administration of exploiting the terrorist threat and
weakening American military capabilities.
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- In a speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace, Soros said his criticism of Bush was not prompted by party politics
or personal animosity. "I consider it crucial that the policies of
the Bush administration be rejected in the forthcoming elections,"
Soros said.
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- Soros has pledged more than $US10 million ($12.8 million)
to left-leaning Democratic groups trying to mobilise US voters for the
November elections.
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- Soros' speech was timed to promote his latest book, The
Bubble of American Supremacy: Correcting the Misuse of American Supremacy.
He said after the September 11 attacks, the US had sympathy and support
around the world, but now it was resented and feared.
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- "It is difficult to think of a period in history
when the standing of America around the world deteriorated so far and so
fast," Soros said. "Even in terms of its own objectives the policies
of the Bush administration have been a dismal failure."
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- He said the administration sought to establish the supremacy
of the US, especially in military terms but US ability to project power
had been diminished by the occupation in Iraq.
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- "The Bush administration has exploited the terrorist
threat and taken us and the world in a radically wrong direction,"
Soros, a native of Hungary who has established a network of foundations
in 30 countries, said.
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- In his book, Soros said he compared the present situation
to a stock-market bubble, which had a foundation in reality but then got
misinterpreted.
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- "In this case the reality is that we are powerful
and occupy a dominant position in the world," Soros said. "The
misinterpretation is that might is right and we ought to use our dominant
position to impose our will on the world. The invasion of Iraq demonstrates
where this false ideology can lead.
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- He said in the election, "we can either deflate
the bubble before it does any more damage or we can endorse the Bush doctrine
and suffer the consequences.
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- "It is American foreign policy that has gone off
the rails not me," Soros said, alluding to criticism of him by Bush
supporters. "Quite simply the Bush doctrine is making us less, not
more safe and renders us less able to foster free and open societies around
the world."
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- Copyright 2003 News Limited.
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- http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,8380919%255E1702,00.html
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