-
Bush’s rush to war smells like a bad deal
The Daily Star
-
US President George W. Bush seems genuinely
indignant over the refusal of many countries to support his march toward
war in the Gulf, but he has no right to fault them for being cautious.
From major Western powers like France to regional players like Syria,
peoples and governments around the world are justifiably nervous about
what, precisely, Washington is trying to sell. All and sundry have heard
Bush and his advisers mouth vague notions about “democratizing”
whatever remains of Iraq once the Pentagon has finished its handiwork, but
the Americans have yet to make firm commitments about their plans for the
proverbial “day after.”
Understandably, this causes many observers to wonder why the richest, most
powerful nation that ever was somehow lacks the confidence and/or the
wherewithal to issue a few basic explanations. Washington has yet to
convince anyone, for instance, that Iraq will just be the first in a
series of venues for wars associated with its new policy of
“pre-emption.” In fact, it has not bothered to try. In addition, there
has been no clear promise to rebuild Iraq after its second shattering at
US hands in just over 12 years. In fact, the Americans have been
suggesting that the crippled country’s own oil revenues will be used to
this end despite the fact that it will take many years and billions of
dollars in investment before these can be brought appreciably above
subsistence level.
These and a host of similarly crucial issues remain very much in doubt for
the simple reason that Bush and his team have failed to go beyond
platitudes in explaining their strategy. This leads friends, foes and
everyone in between to ask some very disturbing questions. Are the
Americans being less than forthcoming because they have yet to decide what
they want to do? Are they just trying to stall because they know that the
details of their plans to “reshape” the Middle East cannot help but
provoke an even louder outcry than is already the case? Is it possible
that they have yet to give the matter much thought?
Whatever the reason for its uncharacteristic lack of volubility,
Washington needs to change course if it wants anyone in this part of the
world to regard the coming war as anything but a cynical ploy to shore up
Israel’s hegemony over the region and bolster its own access to oil.
There are 24 million people in Iraq who richly deserve answers to these
and other questions, not to mention 200 million other Arabs, 67 million
Iranians, and 67 million Turks. This is to say nothing of the 280 million
Americans whose children, parents and siblings will do most of the
shooting in Iraq but also some of the dying.
The Bush administration is sparing no effort in its salesmanship, even
going so far as to alienate some of its most important allies. It is being
exceedingly circumspect, though, about what is on offer. From what has
been said publicly thus far, all that can said with certainty is that
Washington wants to set a unique precedent in the annals of military
history by announcing its intention to invade another country, ignoring
the protestations of the international community, and insisting that its
enemy rid itself beforehand of the means to defend itself. Buyer beware:
Whatever the price, this is one purchase that no one can afford.