Why Iraq? Part 6

A neophyte with regard to foreign policy, President Bush was very vulnerable to influence by neoconservatives such as Richard Perle, co-author of "A Clean Break" (see previous blog entry). Patrick Buchanan has written, "Before 2000, George W. Bush seemed a tabula rasa, a blank slate on foreign policy." He "had no experience in foreign policy and had exhibited zero interest." "Perle's depiction of his delight at first meeting the future president reads like Fagin relating his initial encounter with the young Oliver Twist: 'The first time I met Bush 43, I knew he was different. Two things became clear. One, he didn't know very much. The other was he had confidence to ask questions that revealed he didn't know very much.' " ("Where the Right Went Wrong" p. 41-42.)