After a British helicopter crashed in Basra today, local residents attacked the crash site. This is so terrifyingly reminiscent of our botched 1993 mission in Mogadishu, that it is no wonder even those of us who initially supported the war have turned harsh critics of the Bush administration’s foreign policy competence. Generally a foreign policy conservative, I have debated switching parties on a number of occasions since September 11, 2001, but am now proud of my vote against the Bush administration in 2004, with post-war handling of Iraq at the top of my list of reasons. It is quite clear that there is a difference between having general opinions that you agree with and having the competence and forsight to properly execute them.My greatest criticism of the Bush administration has always been its arrogance. Administration officials refuse to learn from their mistakes because they over and over again refuse to acknowledge them. This policy has been so detrimental to our security and our (noble) goals abroad. The reconstruction of Iraq, the revamping of our intelligence infrastructure, and our relationship with allies and overall ability to effectively fight the war on terror have all suffered because of Bush’s refusal to say “we were wrong there, but we are going to get it right here.”