Might and Morality as a Strategy

The Modern Tribune Online Edition
Democracy Requires Truth to Work

Might and Morality as a Strategy for World Dominance

By D. LINDLEY YOUNG , C. J. CLARKE and VALDANA GUNNELL

WASHINGTON, D. C. (3/17) - The "moment of truth" has arrived and it is built upon shaky ground, questionable evidence, and the specter of a non-existent imminent Iraqi threat. Although Iraq does not pose a clearly "imminent" threat to the US or its allies (and no such level of threat has even been alleged), Bush has decided to depart from a long standing US policy against preemptive attacks upon other nations. Bush stands to embark upon a series of wars - starting with Iraq - that will, without doubt, have immense humanitarian and economic consequences upon the world and could create irreparable global divisions along geopolitical, religious, and economic fault lines.

At the Azores Summit, Bush talked about "the wars of the 21st century." Bush has repeatedly talked about how 9/11 changed the world. Bush has called 9/11 an "opportunity" for America to lead the world to freedom and democracy. In the Bush vision, the 21st Century will be lead by United States might and morality in a call from God and history.

The new American century will now begin with a war upon Iraq - a country that has long been in the sights of Bush and members of his administration. A partial list of "rogue" nations has already been provided, Syria, Iran, North Korea, Lebanon, and others have been targeted. Our nuclear hit list for preemptive attack announced last year includes Russia, China, and Cuba. The message is clear.

We are not just going to war with Iraq - the Iraqi war initiative has as its foundation, a much greater goal that is slowly infiltrating public acceptance. Oil, control of the Mideast, protecting America, and other alleged reasons for the war on Iraq appear to fall short of the ambitions of the Bush administration. A series of wars for world dominance appears to be the ultimate goal of this Administration. This grand strategy may have been the Bush agenda well before he was elected President and before 9/11 presented the opportunity that Bush is now purportedly acting upon.

The New American Century

In October of 1998, forty people signed a letter to then-President Clinton "urging" him to pursue "a strategy for removing Saddam's regime from power." The letter asserted: "This will require a full complement of diplomatic, political and military efforts. Although we are fully aware of the dangers and difficulties in implementing this policy, we believe the dangers of failing to do so are far greater. We believe the U.S. has the authority under existing UN resolutions to take the necessary steps, including military steps, to protect our vital interests in the Gulf. In any case, American policy cannot continue to be crippled by a misguided insistence on unanimity in the UN Security Council."

The letter concluded, "We urge you to act decisively. If you act now to end the threat of weapons of mass destruction against the U.S. or its allies, you will be acting in the most fundamental national security interests of the country. If we accept a course of weakness and drift, we put our interests and our future at risk."

According to a Nightline report by Ted Koppel, ten of the people signing the letter to Clinton were appointed to the Bush administration. Among them are Rumsfeld, Perle, and Wolfowitz. In a Hardball interview a couple of months ago, Chris Mathews asked a Bush supporter if Rumsfeld, Perle, and Wolfowitz and other so-called hawks changed Bush's noninterventionist campaign policy. The guest told Mathews that Bush had met with all these people two years before he became President. In other words, near the beginning of the Bush campaign for President and during the time the letter was sent to President Clinton urging regime change in Iraq, Bush was already conferring with people that were advocating the war on Iraq that now appears to be imminent.

These are the same arguments now made for war on Iraq. Although five years have passed since these arguments were made, the fears asserted in 1998 never materialized.

Source of Current Bush Policy

The apparent source of current Bush policy appears to be the "Project for the New American Century" ("PNAC"). PNAC is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to a few fundamental propositions: that American leadership is good both for America and for the world; that such leadership requires military strength, diplomatic energy and commitment to moral principle; and that too few political leaders today are making the case for global leadership.

The source of PNAC's influence is clear. Its charter members included: Dick Cheney and his top national-security assistant, I. Lewis Libby; Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and four of his chief aides, including Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz. Founding members also included half a dozen other rightwing political appointees in senior policy positions, such as Elliot Abrams and Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton. Richard Perle, the controversial chairman of Rumsfeld's Defense Policy Board (DPB), whose main base of operations is the conservative think-tank American Enterprise Institute (AEI), is also closely associated with PNAC - along with Lynne Cheney.
Gods' Gift of Democracy

The US is posed to begin a path of wars designed to assure that Gods' gift of democracy and freedom to the world will be delivered with a shock and awe never before seen. A "shock and awe" military plan unfolds with special accent on the method and purpose of the strategy. Last week, the very public test of MOAB may have been part of a warning to the world and that a once hidden agenda is now full-blown policy.

There seems a religious tone throughout everything that the Bush administration does. It is deliberately digging a religious divide. Even the title of the latest weapon, MOAB - "Mother of All Bombs" is some kind of a slap back at the "mother of all wars" advocated by the late Ayatollah Khomenei of Iran. It seems freedom in the name of God - a consistent theme in the Bush march to war - is contributing to a clash of cultures and religions.

The neo-conservatives and war hawks are flaunted daily for public display with numerous television appearances by Perle, Wolfowitz, and Cheney becoming more and more frequent. This public flaunting of the neo-conservatives appears to be a sign of confidence that it is too late to stop them. They have started to make their move.

A Call from God and History
Not all Americans believe that Bush is answering a “call” from God or history in the war on Iraq and other evildoers. Many believe that Bush is demanding a replay of history. When Bush was running for President, there was an article in a Texas paper, the Houston Chronicle, about Bush's belief that he had a "call from God" to become President. There are those that believe that the sound he heard was the sale of weapons and the splash of oil as he raised the most money ever in the history of American politics.
Just weeks before the Bush State of the Union address, Karl Rove said that Bush was meeting the "call of history." Bush spoke of this "call" in the 2003 State of the Union address. The war on Iraq and/or the war on terrorism have, as Bush sees it, provides the "opportunity" for America to lead the world to freedom as the hawks fly high. Bush has said: "seldom has history offered a greater opportunity to do so much for so many." Some believe Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld have been seeking the "opportunity" that 9/11 presented well before Bush ever took the Presidency, the unfinished business of Bush, Sr.Some even argue that an ostensible reason for the war in Afghanistan and Iraq were hoped for, if not planned, well in advance. The fact that Bush issued a "Top Secret" order (recently declassified) to the Pentagon on September 17, 2001, ordering the war in Afghanistan and ordering the Pentagon to start preparation for the war in Iraq, adds to that argument. The fact that Bush initially (and still) resisted getting the support of US Congress and the UN bolstered that concern for some.Bush asserted, "Whatever the duration of this struggle, and whatever the difficulties, we will not permit the triumph of violence in the affairs of men -- free people will set the course of history." He went on, "And we go forward with confidence, because this call of history has come to the right country." The State of the Union concluded "trust in them, placing our confidence in the loving God behind all of life, and all of history."The opportunity has come to the right country - the right man -the man destined by God and history to take a place at a table that may have been set before his arrival.Some question whether the trumpets heard for the Bush war will wake up the world or provide him his solo encore on a quest for history: pitting theologies, as the modern messiah against the evildoers of the world in a battle of the Gods. More questions need to be answered. Blind loyalty and fear of knowing the truth are fruits of the same tree. Each, if accepted, stifles discussion and the dissemination of information. Both lead to paths to war.Things are not always what they seem to be. If truth is to have any sense of priority we must never stop questioning. This is especially true when a nation is faced with war against another nation. And even more so, if one nation is to attack another before that nation has attacked it.

A Path More Traveled

There are historic roadmaps for war. A general approach is to create the problem, orchestrate the opposition, and lead a country to an intended result. Germany and Rome provide a couple of examples that are worth note. Consider this quote from Hermann Goering, president of the Reichstag, Nazi Party, and Luftwaffe Commander in Chief:"Naturally the common people don't want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country."Julius Caesar offered this: “Beware the leader who bangs the drums of war in order to whip the citizenry into a patriotic fervor, for patriotism is indeed a double-edged sword. It both emboldens the blood, just as it narrows the mind. And when the drums of war have reached a fever pitch and the blood boils with hate and the mind has closed, the leader will have no need in seizing the rights of the citizenry. Rather, the citizenry, infused with fear and blinded by patriotism, will offer up all of their rights unto the leader and gladly so. How do I know? For this is what I have done. And I am Caesar.”

Through a massive propaganda campaign, the Bush administration has convinced most Americans that the war on Iraq will eliminate "the" Iraqi threat, reduce terrorism and somehow make this a safer world. The role of evidence has been relegated to a very low status with misguided fear directed to Iraq as the primary reason for the war on Iraq. President Bush has all but said that we have to get even for 9/11 and implies that the war on Iraq is part of the pound of flesh.

In his speech last week Bush mentioned Iraq and 9/11 eight or more times. Bush accents an impression that Iraq had something to do with 9/11 and implies that the war on Iraq may be part of getting even. In a recent CNN/Gallop Poll, 51% of those polled believed that Iraq was involved in 9/11. There is no evidence that ties Iraq to 9/11. This presents questions as to how informed those are that support the war on Iraq.
Wolfowitz has announced that we are seeing the last days of the United Nations. That could mean we are seeing the beginning of the new American century. Many lives shall be given for a cause which does not have world interests in mind and which will not make the US or the world safer. History has a long memory and astute sense for detail. The truth of the day may be the lie of tomorrow.

The Messianic Mission of Bush

WASHINGTON, D.C. (www.themoderntribune.com)- Great nations fall when empire and religious missions become the goal of the nation and the ambitions of a few become the sway of the nation. President George W. Bush and what have become known as the neocons, the hawks and the Vulcans, have set the course. They are the Gods of Fire and control the reins of the most powerful military ever for their ambitious goals. We now are in the New American Century where "the almighty God" shall deliver "liberty to the world." This drumbeat for empire becomes more and more pronounced as the hubris for this crusade is fueled by the seemingly blind support of at least half of America for Bush. For more see www.themoderntribune.com.