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The Emperor Has Spoken. Let The World Take Heed
By Rahul Mahajan
Mark the date: March 16, 2003. It will go down in history as the day our
new Caesar crossed his personal Rubicon. Bush's twin ultimata, to Iraq
and to the United Nations, constituted the final and ultimate
declaration of the new New World Order.
The first formal declaration was in his speech to Congress on September
20, 2001. "Every nation in every region now has a decision to make.
Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists." The open
implication was that the rule of law, already honored mostly in the
breach, was to be replaced by the rule of force; that force, naturally,
to emanate from Washington.
Over the 1.5 years since then, there have been numerous reaffirmations
-- the launching of the pre-emption doctrine, the warning to the UN that
if it didn't do America's bidding it would make itself "irrelevant" --
but it was always possible to imagine that even this reckless
administration might be turned back, might at least at least generate an
illusion of a velvet glove in which to cloak its iron fist.
No more. Bush's declaration was crafted to lock in the insane and
potentially suicidal course that the administration has taken ever since
the attacks of 9/11.
What was really shocking and terrifying was not simply the effective
declaration of war against Iraq; it has been a foregone conclusion for
at least six months that, in the absence of overwhelming opposition, the
war would happen. Rather, it was the way the ultimatum was delivered. To
give Iraq 24 hours to "disarm" (even while Dick Cheney and Colin Powell
make the rounds of talk TV saying there is no longer a way for Iraq to
comply) is openly farcical. An administration that took a year after
9/11 before it instituted widespread X-raying of checked bags might be
expected to understand this. To give the Security Council 24 hours to
pass a resolution is a naked imperial imposition.
It is an ultimatum designed not to elicit any response, but rather to
humiliate.
It is also perhaps worth commenting on the stunningly open mendacity of
the Bush administration, continued with Bush's ultimatum yesterday. To
make this declaration on the 15th anniversary of the gassing of Halabja,
to mention it specifically, is a profound insult not just to the Iraqi
people but to all of us; where is the mention that the United States
supported Iraq fully at the time, with biological and chemical
materials, loan guarantees, and diplomatic cover? That it went so far as
to issue organized disinformation
(http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0117-01.htm) suggesting that Iran
was the culprit? To mention Rwanda as an example of the "failure" of the
UN was possibly even worse. Again, where was the mention that the UN
"failed" because the United States kept UN peacekeepers from being
reinforced, cut off their supplies, and pushed ceaselessly to have them
removed? Or the mention that the State Department deliberately covered
up gwu.edu its clear
knowledge that what was happening was genocide?
Indeed, it is again as if these references were added simply to display
flagrant contempt for the rest of the world, which may know the truth
but consistently feels unable to express it because of the weight of
U.S. coercion.
And perhaps the most important lie was the reference to France. France
has "shown its cards" and "said they were going to veto anything that
held Saddam to account" -- this right on the heels of Chirac's effective
surrender by agreeing to a 30-day deadline for disarmament.
This was is much bigger than a war on Iraq. It is a gauntlet hurled in
the face of France and the rest of "old Europe." It is a frontal assault
on the concept of democracy worldwide. It is, if you look at the
planning documents (http://www.newamericancentury.org) of the
neoconservatives who now run our foreign policy, the first stage in a
long campaign against China.
Yesterday, Bush drew the battle lines through the entire globe and
through the middle of each country. In order even to begin to understand
how to oppose this new imperialism, we must understand this: weapons of
mass destruction have nothing to do with this war, and even Iraq itself
has to do with this war only in the sense that it is a strategic prize.
This war is a small part of an ongoing attempt to reshape the world.
The target of this war is not Iraq. The target is the entire world
order, and Iraq is simply collateral damage. |
