If there’s one central theme to the foreign policy of President George W. Bush, it is the promotion of freedom and democracy. It is sure to come up when he meets Afghan President Hamid Kharzai today at the White House.
Kharzai is angry over reports of the U.S. military abusing Afghan detainees. It is the same anger that is heard throughout the Muslim and Arab world over similar reports from Guantanamo, and Abu Ghraib.
It all feeds into frustration with America’s push for democracy. Many say it is too inconsistent — talk of freedom, but on the ground, too much of a colonial or imperialist attitude. So how can the U.S. polish up its tarnished image? Some say the only way to promote freedom and democracy is quietly and behind the scenes.
Guests:
Georges A. Fauriol, senior vice president, International Republican Institute
David Rohde, foreign correspondent for The New York Times, fellow at the Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics & Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
David Ignatius, columnist and associate editor for The Washington Post.