AHC - Realistic Worst Case Scenario Gore Presidency

It was wrong. The Shia Arabs in Iraq were far far more pro-American in 1991 then 2003. They trusted us in 1991, they trusted our word that if they rose up we would help them. We lied and hundreds of thousands of Shia were butchered.

What we did was horrible and unexcusable and the fact is after the second Iraq war that the Shia could never trust us which was a massive gift to Iran. Iraq still didn't have to end up in Iran's sphere, but lets just say I would grade Obama on Iraq worse then Bush... hell worse then first term Bush.

But as to what we did in 1991.



It was at the moral level of say FDR telling the French to rise up against the Germans in May of 1944 and promising to help them and them doing so and then FDR signing a peace deal with Hitler a few days later and just standing by and watching as hundreds of thousands of French men, women and children end up getting butchered.

But, because they were Arabs the West has a huge huge double standard in regards to what we did in regard to the Shia.

Agreed. Abandoning those people was disgusting and is a stain on our national honor. We did the same thing to the Republic of Vietnam.
 
I don't recall much Western European hate for Bush before 911, except
from the sort of people who'd also hate Gore or any other feasible US
president. Not being impressed and believing him insufficiently competent/
experienced is the negative opinion I recall.

I also don't recall any point after 911 where Bush could have invaded Iraq
"without much anger from Europe" by just doing it and NOT going to
the UN.

THe meme of "stupid cowboy" was often heard before he was even in office. The has always been some assumptions from various Europeans about Americans from certain regions.
 
Something a lot of people seem to have forgotten about Al Gore is that his connection to the PMRC, an association that not only advocated censorship, but the type of censorship generally supported by right-wing types rather then that that generally supported by left-wing types. If- And I say if- President AL Gore had let that mindset resurface, in the aftermath of 9/11 when people were showing how weakly they truly desired their rights and as the leader of the party that can usually be counted on to oppose such things he could basically run with it as far as he wanted.
 
Something a lot of people seem to have forgotten about Al Gore is that his connection to the PMRC, an association that not only advocated censorship, but the type of censorship generally supported by right-wing types rather then that that generally supported by left-wing types. If- And I say if- President AL Gore had let that mindset resurface, in the aftermath of 9/11 when people were showing how weakly they truly desired their rights and as the leader of the party that can usually be counted on to oppose such things he could basically run with it as far as he wanted.

Of course, in this scenario a bunch of conservative Republicans may go libertarian/paleoconservative on the issue just to troll Gore.
 
Something a lot of people seem to have forgotten about Al Gore is that his connection to the PMRC, an association that not only advocated censorship, but the type of censorship generally supported by right-wing types rather then that that generally supported by left-wing types. If- And I say if- President AL Gore had let that mindset resurface, in the aftermath of 9/11 when people were showing how weakly they truly desired their rights and as the leader of the party that can usually be counted on to oppose such things he could basically run with it as far as he wanted.

Don't forget Lieberman's dreams of an Internet kill switch and his staunch support of PIPA. They were a dangerous ticket in some ways.
 
Forgive my Ignorance on the situation, but how is an Iraq War a given in a post 9/11 Presidency. I always though it was a vendetta and bad reading of facts on Saddam along with the rejecting the U.N inspectors that lead to the Iraq War.
 
You really cannot divorce this timeline from your personal political views. I think you have to assume 9/11 occurs under President Gore. I assume his initial response would be a lot like Bush’s. I don’t see President Gore getting involved in Iraq. I would expect a much more stringent environmental regime. His legacy debt to organized labor would keep him from totally abandoning manufacturing. A very different set of Supreme Court nominees.
 
Forgive my Ignorance on the situation, but how is an Iraq War a given in a post 9/11 Presidency. I always though it was a vendetta and bad reading of facts on Saddam along with the rejecting the U.N inspectors that lead to the Iraq War.

I wouldn't call it a given, but saying it was a personal vendetta on Bush's part ignores the long standing conflict between the US and Iraq.
 
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