... devoted to carrying out a Wilsonian policy of making "the world safe for democracy"...
Further confusing this assertion is the fact that Wilson was a master elocutionist, who used the quoted phrase to spur the nation to declare war as a result of German attacks and their attempt to bring Mexico into conflict with the U.S. (and perhaps in response to other stimuli). Wilson's first term was notable for himself keeping the country out of the global conflict, so Wilsonian "policy" is itself contradictory. "Protecting democracy" is a euphemism for "we need to declare war", for whatever set of
actual reasons.
Bush's actual reasons for invading Iraq I believe were very thin, and certainly delusional, and have very little consonance with the WWI backstory. Ardy's characterization of Bush's mentations as being "git Saddam and democracy will fill the void" rings solid to me. The debacle following that was an excellent example of trying to justify sunk costs (a nod to the ever present spectre of Capitalism
)
