Diplomatic incompetence
It has been said that a war means the diplomats have failed and asked the generals to step in. Whether Bush and co ever wanted even the possibility of a peaceful solution in Iraq is another question, but regardless of that, the administration seems to have done its best to alienate anyone who might have wanted to help us and to earn the contempt of those who really would have preferred to see us in a positive light.
Just *one* example is Bush's insistence that "if you are not with us, you are against us!" Now anyone who doesn't agree with everything Bush is pushing has no choice to become our enemy. Wow, look at all the new enemies that have suddenly sprung up! "No compromise" may sound nifty as a slogan, but it's contrary to how our country was founded, and absolutism only leads to unending conflict.
Just *one* example is Bush's insistence that "if you are not with us, you are against us!" Now anyone who doesn't agree with everything Bush is pushing has no choice to become our enemy. Wow, look at all the new enemies that have suddenly sprung up! "No compromise" may sound nifty as a slogan, but it's contrary to how our country was founded, and absolutism only leads to unending conflict.