7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked Out About If Bush Had Done Them

Obama's national security policy has continued some of the most controversial moves of the Bush administration. Silence from much of the left.

posted on February 11, 2013 at 1:44pm EST
Benny Johnson BuzzFeed Staff

Democrats were overjoyed when George W. Bush left office in January of 2009.


Via: amfussybroad

Obama had promised to end Bush's hawkish foreign policy and the "war on terror's" detention and interrogation regime.



Image by Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

But in the beginning of his fifth year as president, Obama's record has been surprisingly similar to his predecessor's in those areas.



Image by Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

1. Democrats fought George W. Bush’s troop surge in Iraq in 2006.



Image by Hans Deryk / Reuters

Obama copied it in Afghanistan in 2009.



Image by Charles Dharapak / AP

You would think Democrats would react the same way they did to Bush's surge policy:



Via: iced-gif

But they were really more like:



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2. American deaths in Afghanistan have skyrocketed since Obama took office.



Image by Steve Ruark / AP

Actually, the death tolls in Afghanistan under each administration look like this:



So you would think Democrats would react like this:



via: sleepinbeaute

But they are much more like this.



Via: sleepinbeaute

3. President Obama's drones and special operators are working down "kill lists" of suspected terrorists.



Image by Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

Obama even put Anwar al-Awlaki — an American citizen — on such a list.


Al-Awlaki was killed under secret authorization from the justice department in 2011.

Source: tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com

When Bush did this, the Democrats were all like:



Via: brittanygracex

But now they are more like:



Via: brittanygracex

4. Drone attacks have risen sharply under Obama.



Image by Photo: EPA

Last year, a teenage American citizen, Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, was taken out in a drone strike without a trial.



Via: cdn.theatlantic.com

If Bush did this, Democrats would literally hyperventilate.



Via: deartrolls

But with Obama they are more like:



Via: deartrolls

5. In Pakistan alone, the administration has launched more than 300 drone strikes.



Via: thenewstribe.com

Pakistani civilian casualties due to these strikes are as high as 800 according to international estimates.



Image by AFP / Getty Images

So the Democrats should be like:



Via: brittanygracex

But they are a lot more like:



Via: brittanygracex

6. Obama promised to end the Bush-era torture interrogation practices.



Image by Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

But last year the U.N. released three damning reports detailing torture in Afghan facilities under Obama's security watch.



Image by Andrew Burton / Reuters

When Bush did this, Democrats were like:



Via: deartrolls

Now:



Via: deartrolls

7. Obama was unable to deliver on his pledge to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center, which Bush had also said he would close.



Image by John Moore / Getty Images

When Bush did this, Democrats were all like:



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And...



Via: mr-growley

8. And...



Via: mr-growley

But now they are much more like:



Via: iced-gif

"We may not be so different, you and I."



Image by Courtesy of the Bush Center, Houston Texas.

7 Things Democrats Would Have Freaked Out About If Bush Had Done Them