Imperialist Watch
2006-11-06 15:08:41 UTC
Long but interesting article, from a refreshing Canadian perspective, about
disastrous Bush impact on the world.:
"Every 10 years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small,
crappy, little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world
we mean business," said neo-con Michael Ledeen in an American Enterprise
Institute forum.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1162595434813&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home
Whether or not the Republicans lose control of one or both houses of the
U.S. Congress on Tuesday, the neo-conservative vision that has guided
American foreign policy since 2001 has run its course. The neo-cons' grand
design lies in ruins, having accomplished nothing other than to shrink
America's stature in the world.
The great unwinding of the American "benign global hegemony" first heralded
by neo-cons William Kristol and Robert Kagan in 1996 will commence after the
election, when America's political leadership will abandon Iraq and the
neo-cons.
...
[David] Frum [former Bush speechwriter] echoes Michael Ignatieff, who, like
many liberal hawks on Iraq in 2002-03, has since taken refuge in the
proposition that no one could have foreseen that "the Americans in Iraq
would make every mistake possible."
Could not, that is, have foreseen that an Iraq occupation might be botched
by a nation with the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam and the Iran-Contra scandal on its
record; that by choice lacks the peacekeeping and other skills associated
with successful occupations; and is led by a chief executive who arrived at
the presidency with a declared aversion to nation-building.
....
No reasonable person would urge a return to the U.S. isolationism that
characterized the GOP as recently as the 1990s. When not under the sway of a
Robert McNamara or Dick Cheney, America is indeed the "indispensable nation"
of Bill Clinton's description. And Clinton proved it more than once by
ending a Balkans genocide after years of dawdling by European powers,
bailing out Mexico after a short-lived peso crisis, and brokering peace in
Northern Ireland and East Timor.
It's possible that, after its humbling in Iraq, America will retreat into
itself instead of rejoining the community of nations and the pursuit of
truly consensual solutions to the crises of global injustice, impoverishment
and environmental degradation.
In that case, the neo-cons will have earned their place in one of the inner
circles of hell.
---
"We talk a great deal about patriotism. What do we mean by patriotism in the
context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of
national responsibility which will enable America to remain master of her
power-to walk with it in serenity and wisdom, with self-respect and the
respect to all mankind; a patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a
patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the
tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. The dedication of a
lifetime-these are words that are easy to utter, but this is a mighty
assignment. For it is often easier to fight for principles than to live up
to them." - Adlai Stevenson's 'Nature of Patriotism' Speech, 1952
disastrous Bush impact on the world.:
"Every 10 years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small,
crappy, little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world
we mean business," said neo-con Michael Ledeen in an American Enterprise
Institute forum.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1162595434813&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home
Whether or not the Republicans lose control of one or both houses of the
U.S. Congress on Tuesday, the neo-conservative vision that has guided
American foreign policy since 2001 has run its course. The neo-cons' grand
design lies in ruins, having accomplished nothing other than to shrink
America's stature in the world.
The great unwinding of the American "benign global hegemony" first heralded
by neo-cons William Kristol and Robert Kagan in 1996 will commence after the
election, when America's political leadership will abandon Iraq and the
neo-cons.
...
[David] Frum [former Bush speechwriter] echoes Michael Ignatieff, who, like
many liberal hawks on Iraq in 2002-03, has since taken refuge in the
proposition that no one could have foreseen that "the Americans in Iraq
would make every mistake possible."
Could not, that is, have foreseen that an Iraq occupation might be botched
by a nation with the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam and the Iran-Contra scandal on its
record; that by choice lacks the peacekeeping and other skills associated
with successful occupations; and is led by a chief executive who arrived at
the presidency with a declared aversion to nation-building.
....
No reasonable person would urge a return to the U.S. isolationism that
characterized the GOP as recently as the 1990s. When not under the sway of a
Robert McNamara or Dick Cheney, America is indeed the "indispensable nation"
of Bill Clinton's description. And Clinton proved it more than once by
ending a Balkans genocide after years of dawdling by European powers,
bailing out Mexico after a short-lived peso crisis, and brokering peace in
Northern Ireland and East Timor.
It's possible that, after its humbling in Iraq, America will retreat into
itself instead of rejoining the community of nations and the pursuit of
truly consensual solutions to the crises of global injustice, impoverishment
and environmental degradation.
In that case, the neo-cons will have earned their place in one of the inner
circles of hell.
---
"We talk a great deal about patriotism. What do we mean by patriotism in the
context of our times? I venture to suggest that what we mean is a sense of
national responsibility which will enable America to remain master of her
power-to walk with it in serenity and wisdom, with self-respect and the
respect to all mankind; a patriotism that puts country ahead of self; a
patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion, but the
tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime. The dedication of a
lifetime-these are words that are easy to utter, but this is a mighty
assignment. For it is often easier to fight for principles than to live up
to them." - Adlai Stevenson's 'Nature of Patriotism' Speech, 1952