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archived: 17 - 23 Apr, 2005 Back Next UPDATED: April 17, 2005 ANTI-AMERICAN CENTURY II Even though they have been convinced by the sermons of pulpit-pounding preachers and deluded by the bogus logic underpinning the propaganda of the fanatical right, neoconservatives are beginning to see through the fallacies lurking in the real world that haunt their visions of everlasting American Imperial grandeur, national resurgence and dominion over all the peoples and nations of the globe. How do we know this? We know this, because they have announced their military retreat from Iraq. After the massive outpouring of Anti-Americanism in Firdaus Square when 300,000 Iraqis openly paraded their vehement hatred for George Bush, Saddam Hussein and Tony Blair, neoconservative propagandists moved swiftly to unleash their latest flood of lies disguised as military assessments. US military leaders announced that American forces shall retreat from Iraq in a phased series of troop withdrawals. This retreat will take place in parallel with propaganda operations designed to ensure that the rejection of neoconservativism in Iraq will be erased from the American public’s collective memory. This political objective will be achieved through a barrage or propaganda proving that progress is being made on the ground in Iraq. US troop levels will be reduced from 142,000 to 105,000 early next year as the first phase of the US retreat from what has proven to be a highly unruly Iraq. This reality has come at the chagrin of those millions of American neoconservatives who actually believed the lies of George Bush and Dick Cheney prior to the invasion. Iraqis, we were told, would welcome American forces as liberators from the harsh cruelty of Saddam Hussein. Judging from the levels of insurgency both before and after the US-led invasion, the people of Iraq would seem to prefer Saddam Hussein to George Bush. Security experts are being rolled out to explain away the truth - that America has lost the war for the hearts and minds of the people of Iraq. Neoconservatives will argue that the insurgency has worn itself out; the election led to the political collapse of Anti-Americanism in Iraq, and US soldiers can now confidently look forward to the beginning of phased withdrawals. The painful facts remain that large sectors of Iraq are far beyond either American or Iraqi control. Cases of local police joining together with insurgents to fight against the occupying forces are beginning to surface in the European media. To date, it is perfectly clear that the US military has been unable to stop the insurgency, and at the same time, the insurgency remains unable to either expel or destroy the American forces. In recent days, the president of Iraq, Jalal Talabani, is now advocating the total withdrawal of US troops in only two years time. The political advantages to the neoconservatives of large scale troop withdrawals in the run up to the mid-term elections next year may well be incalculable. US troop withdrawals will help the neocons, particularly in the face of such inept political opposition as seen so far from the Democrats. This is sad, for the only opposition party in America remains largely under the spell of the Democratic Leadership Council (DLC) which is riddled with a virulent form of neoconservatism that has already infected several aspiring presidential candidates: Evan Bayh, Joseph Biden, Wesley Clark, Hillary Clinton and John Kerry who espouse the neoconservative model of robust and frequent military interventionism as their preferred form of big-stick, pro-democracy diplomacy. On the ground in Iraq, the situation remains dire. Even though US forces swiftly seized Baghdad Airport in 2003, the road connecting the airport to the city remains beyond US control. The road between the city and its airport is a rebellious highway of insurgency, terrorism and the explosive growth of kidnapping. Surface travel between the airport and the Green Zone is now so hazardous that visiting dignitaries are always flown by helicopter for it is simply far too dangerous a journey to be made by car – even a heavily armed and armored Humvee. When Bush visits Iraq, his movements are so tightly constricted that he is forced to restrain himself to clandestine meetings solely with US troops in heavily guarded military compounds. The truth is that the Sunni regions of Iraq are still defiantly in open rebellion. It is now abundantly clear that the US military cannot defeat the insurgency, and the nation will be unstable as long as there is a foreign military presence to fan the flames of violent rebellion. While the majority of the Anti-American rebellion appears to be Sunni, if there were to be a political shift, and the Shias - who outnumber the Sunnis by two to one - were to join forces with them, the US military position would become untenable immediately. It may be important to remember that the massive demonstrations in Firdaus Square less than two weeks ago were primarily Shias loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr. While their protests were non-violent, they could well reach a tipping point and lock arms together with their Sunni brothers to drive the invaders from their occupied nation. That is the fear that is now driving the neoconservative retreat from Iraq. The bald-faced truth is that Bush’s policies are fueling Islamic terrorism. Last week, we learned that global statistics for terrorism have risen dramatically since 9/11. Worse. We learned that the Bush administration has attempted to distort the statistics of terror to mask their failure to provide security in what has become a period obsessed with security. The irony of this situation is clear, even though it is not entirely amusing, for the escalating demands for national and homeland security are due entirely to the politics of neoconservativism. The agendas of neoconservativism have borne fruit. But, it is an acrid, bitter and ultimately poisonous banquet. Rather than a New American Century, neoconservativism has produced, and there is every reason to believe that it will continue to produce, an Anti-American Century. It is time to leave the horrible banquet. High time.
Related Articles of Interest US plans retreat from Iraq as Pentagon claims progress by Andrew Buncombe in Washington
What I Didn't See in Iraq 150 hostages and 19 deaths leave US claims of Iraqi 'peace' in tatters By Patrick Cockburn in Mosul __________________ Since 1968, Michael Carmichael has been a professional political consultant. Beginning as a Student Coordinator for Robert F. Kennedy, he has worked in five US presidential campaigns as well as over 100 major American political campaigns for federal and state offices. In 1985, he founded The Oxford Centre for Public Affairs in the United Kingdom. In 2003, he founded The Planetary Movement Limited, a global political action organization based in the United Kingdom.
Last Update: 03/23/2006 |
