I think the term "think tank" is an oxymoron. A "denital tank" would be better descriptive.

Rewriting history wouldn't be so bad if it was not at the expense of progress made by Americans serving abroad, not to mention all the innocent lives we lose as a result. I believe that my grandfather, my great grandfather, and all men who served so honorably during World Wars I and II would be disgusted to know just how much our nation has changed since they were called to duty for the good of all humankind. They would be disgusted to know how a group of Americans used our patriotism and willingness to serve good for their own personal gain.

My great grandfather and grandfather were both aware of our efforts in the Middle East before they passed away. Both made an effort to understand that predominantly Arab culture as a result. Even then there were those within the Arab world who would do what they could to drive out foreign influence. These two men ensured that I would understand the difference between hostile and friendly Arabs because they knew that our struggle would only worsen if we were to confuse the two.

George Bush and his administration betrayed the efforts of my great grandfather, my grandfather, myself and countless other dedicated Americans when they not only allowed Americans to confuse hostile and friendly Arabs but promoted that misunderstanding. They promoted that misunderstanding when they made the case for Iraq invasion on the assumption that the nation itself was agressive. The fact of the matter remains that Iraq never threatened the US until we decided to drive them from Kuwait, and then their threats were understandable, if not unwanted.

Terrorists, due to their lack of structure, are for the most part beyond diplomacy. We fight terrorists the way that we do because they are beyond diplomacy. Nation states, like Iraq, are not beyond diplomacy.

Diplomacy does not work overnight and may take decades, as we see with regard to the Arab/Israeli conflict. The practice of diplomacy is the best way to ensure that the lives of those on the ground do not become deadly or even choatic, as they have become in Iraq. Had Iraq attacked the United States as terrorists have, invasion would have been justified.

Not only was the Iraq invasion not justified here, but it has made the problem of extremism worse than ever. Since that invasion began, and since our president has decided to turn a blind eye to the Arab/Israeli conflict, extremism has grown exponentially. We have seen attacks in Spain, Britian, Indonesia, Bangladesh and elsewhere. We have also seen the Arab/Israeli conflict cause a war in Lebanon this summer and breakdown in the overall peace process with Palestinians mainly because our president refused to bring the two sides together as our previous president had done. He even encouraged civil conflict between Palestinians when he refused to talk with Palestines newly elected government, as though talking to them would force him to accept their position on Israel. He may in fact have been able to change their position had he the guts to talk.

I can see maybe naming a garbage dump or a sewer after bush. or maybe some new deadly illness. some sort of killer bacteria or gangrene. a nasty sore or a rotten festering hole on the universe. that would be a fitting tribute.

To put a Bush Library in a college would be okay, only if all the facts were 100% realiable in concrete, not in quicksand quagmires of Mission Accomplished Weapon of Mass Destruction Republican manipulation of an Ego that did not do his homework assignment. For that we must give him a failing mark on every body bag hidden from accountability.

I can sum up the debate for GW's lie-brary in one word, "Argentina!!"

Failure and disgrace should not be memorialized.

Bush has a bad enough legancy without us added to it. That is why his dad broke down on National TV while talking about an intirely different subject.

Right now this administration is militarily confronting Iran!?What is Robert Gates doing? Perhaps we have another repub who will say whatever to get the position then do what he wants!This administration is absolutely the most irresponsible bunch I have ever seen.They seem determined to escalate at every turn.I`m afraid they have some notion that that is showing manhood?

To retrieve any semblance of credibility on the national and international scene, Texas must detach itself from the criminal likes of George W. bush, Ken Lay, and Tom DeLay. I hope all Texas institutions of higher learning, and communities which believe in decency and honesty, totally reject any association with this cabal.

Maybe baby bush should try to put his "library" on prison grounds. Now THAT would be appropriate.

What will be in the GWB library? His mother's book about Milly the dog? Is she going to read it to Katrina victims' children between snarky comments about the poor?

I TOO THINK ITS DISGRACEFULL THAT SMU WON'T HOUSE THE GW BUSH LIBRARY. I WOULD THINK THEY COULD FIND ROOM FOR THE BOOKS WHICH COMPRISE THE LIBRARY. BOTH OF THEM

Election Day rendered George W. Bush a lame-duck president, and he can begin thinking about his presidential library. Imagine what an honest rendition of that library might look like.

Such libraries typically begin with the early career -- in this case The Foggy Years, the heroic service in the Air National Guard, and the falling upward economically. A gallery could commemorate all the Texas businessmen who helped young George turn business blunders into windfalls.
This would lead into an exhibit on Governor Bush, the Uniter not the Divider, his collaboration with Texas Democrats, and the unity theme in the 2000 presidential campaign. From there, you'd go directly into the Hammer Room, and observe Tom DeLay excluding Democrats from the legislative process in Congress.

The next salon would be the Rogues Gallery, featuring each of the several congressional scoundrels of the Bush era -- DeLay being forced to step down as Republican House leader, the hapless Representative Bob Ney pleading guilty but refusing to give up his seat, Representative Randy Cunningham devising convoluted scams that led to prison time, as well as an elaborate interactive diagram on the multiple connections with corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff. A nearby exhibit would commemorate corporate felons close to Bush, beginning with Enron officers.

One of the most surprising exhibits would be the Gay Closet, depicting the several senior Republican congressional staffers, congressmen, and leaders of the national Republican Party who turned out to be closeted gays. The exhibit would be paired with examples of Republican anti-gay ballot initiatives. The Museum of the Iraq War would open with the Mission Accomplished Room, a wax diorama of President Bush costumed in his flight jacket, emerging from a fighter jet on the USS Lincoln flight deck. The Mission Accomplished banner used in the original May 2003 stunt would adorn the wall. On a facing wall would be discrete portraits of each of the thousands of soldiers killed in Iraq after the mission was declared accomplished.

The stout-hearted could take in a lifelike simulation of the torture chambers of Abu Ghraib. Viewers would exit via the blinking color-coded lights of the Hall of Fear, showing the innumerable efforts to keep the American electorate in a permanent state of anxiety. An educational exhibit would trace the falsification of intelligence linking Saddam Hussein to Al Qaeda and to nuclear weapons, and the helpful role of credulous reporters.

The nearby Spin Gallery would feature journalists who temporarily thrived by serving as Bush's enablers. Judith Miller and Bob Woodward would each get a room. In the nearby Chamber of Echoes, viewers could trace administration talking points from press handouts to Fox News commentaries, editorials in the Wall Street Journal, and talk-radio scripts.

The Hall of Faith would depict the gift of tax-supported services to mega-church empires, and include videos of speeches by Bush's favorite televangelists, such as the Rev. Jerry Falwell calling the 9/11 attacks God's punishment for America's sinful ways. The parallel Hall of Science would display the handing over of science policy to deniers of global warming, religious opponents of stem-cell research and contraception, and sponsors of theological reinterpretations of Darwin.

Nearby would be rotating exhibits featuring Great Moments in Public Management. This month: ``Heck of a Job, Brownie: FEMA and Hurricane Katrina."
A cozy lobby would display how lobbyists for major industries took over government -- energy industries running energy policy, drug companies running the FDA, and so on. Museum-goers needing refreshment could enjoy complimentary doughnuts offered by the HMO industry, to commemorate the doughnut hole of non-coverage in Bush's Medicare drug bill crafted by the insurance companies.

A special exhibition, American Democracy in the Bush Years, would feature material on Ken Blackwell and Katherine Harris, with displays of flawed or manipulated voting machines, purged voter lists, excessive ID checks, rubber-stamp courts, and suspensions of civil liberties.

Visiting schoolchildren who did not live through the Bush era, jaded by special effects in horror movies, would anxiously ask parents and teachers if this all really happened. And at the back of the museum, tourists would be startled to notice a larger, ominously darkened building, dwarfing the sunny George W. Bush Presidential Library. This is, of course, the Dick Cheney Vice-Presidential Library.

Robert Kuttner is co-editor of The American Prospect and a senior fellow at Demos. His column appears regularly in the Globe.