WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Billionaire George Soros criticized the Bush administration Monday for using the war on terror as a pretext for an aggressive foreign policy.
In remarks at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Soros said President Bush has: "used the war on terror as a pretext to pursue a dream of American supremacy that is neither obtainable nor desirable. It endangers civil liberties at home and embroils (the United States) in military adventures abroad."
Soros' remarks, given to publicize his new book, The Bubble of American Surpremacy, are part of a continuing effort by the Hungarian-born billionaire to direct the attention of the American voter off the economy and on to foriegn policy.
The Bush administration, Soros said, is basing its foreign policy on a "Bush Doctrine" that holds that the United States "will not tolerate any rival globally or in any region" and that the United States "has the right to engage in preventive adventures abroad."
To date Soros has donated millions to groups sharing his goal defeating Bush in 2004.
"A different president with a different attitude," Soros said, would create for the United States a different place among the family of nations.
Soros did not explicitly endorse former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean's presidential bid but did take the opportunity to say that he was, "keen on Dean" and that Dean's foreign policy message was certainly one that he could embrace.
