Tuesday, March 12, 2002

George W Bush's unlikely bedfellows 11th March 2002 NewStatesman (UK) "Much of the intellectual left in Europe cleaves to a view of America as the largest danger in the modern world." " ... the position of Francis Fukuyama, in his End of History and the Last Man - that the values derived from the American revolution represent the highest achievement of political economy and that there can now be no credible challenge to them." " ... the war has exposed a division in Europe's left: between the decent left, which is on the side of those willing to fight Islamic fascism, and the rigidly anti-American left. The latter is willing to push all else aside in order to give free way to a refurbished critique of imperialism, in which the US plays the dominant role ... 'America finds itself facing an ideological enemy that may turn out to be harder to defeat than militant Islam: that is to say, anti- Americanism, which is presently taking the world by storm.' [see Rushdie] ... on a recent visit to the UK ... it became quite obvious that people in the upper social echelon thought that the US was being too self-righteous." "The American left - powerful in intellectual, cultural and media circles, if not in politics - is either for the war, or silent ... " "Powerful states, notably the US and China, see sovereignty as a non-negotiable right - the US, to the point of refusing to accede to the International Criminal Court lest a US soldier or official be brought to trial in a foreign jurisdiction." " ... nothing has been written into international law, or UN practice, that gives sanction to larger interventions, especially those undertaken without the moral force provided by a prior strike. ... 'It would be easy ... for America, in the present climate of hostility . . . to start . . . throwing its weight around without regard for the concerns of what it perceives as an already hostile world.'" "'a new politics' of engagement emerging ... It is a politics that at least promises to redefine national interest to include the halt of mass murder. The left, instead of dismissing all actions and rhetoric of Bush, Blair and Schroder as those of hypocritical imperialists, should hold these leaders to their words. If, as the left has long believed, genocide, oppression and aggression should be fought, its task is to ensure that politicians who endorse these aims live up to them." ... [more] 4:07:54 PM  Google It!  comment  []

America’s new posture Mar 11th 2002 "George Bush has said the world should “take seriously the growing threat of terror on a catastrophic scale” if terrorists get hold of weapons of mass destruction. He spoke as America’s plans for action against Iraq and leaked details of a new policy on the use of nuclear weapons have given rise to jitters about America's new military assertiveness" " ... three reasons why the Nuclear Posture Review ... has caused nail-biting among some of America’s allies ... First, in listing ... two ... that are not known to be pursuing nuclear- weapons programmes ... America ... [previously] has pledged not to mount a nuclear attack against any country that has no nuclear arms. ... Second ... the Review ... impl[ies] America might be more ready to use nuclear weapons than had been thought. ... Third, the Review envisages the development of new, tactical nuclear weapons with smaller warheads ... This gives rise to the worry that the distinction between conventional and nuclear warfare would be blurred, leading to a lower threshold for a nuclear attack, and thus to the undermining of the global non-proliferation regime." "Most of the worries raised overseas by the Review are overblown. ... The main purpose of America’s huge nuclear arsenal remains that of deterrence. ... The more likely America’s foes think its nuclear weapons are to be used, the greater their power to deter." ... [more] 3:42:46 PM  Google It!  comment  []