This report forcefully argues that ultimate success
in preventing another 9/11 attack on American soil
hinges on sustained international cooperation, because
“the United States cannot by itself investigate
every lead, arrest every subject, gather and analyze
all the intelligence, effectively sanction every sponsor
of terrorism, prevent the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction, or find and fight every terrorist
cell.” Furthermore, the report applauds the
much maligned United Nations for providing international
focus and energy to this collective effort.
Unfortunately the State Department is the lone voice
of sanity in the Bush administration and rarely listened
to by President Bush and his cabal of neo-conservative
advisers—who Colin Powell allegedly called “fucking
crazies” during the build-up to the Iraqi war.
Anyone who has listened to Dick, Condi, and Co. over
the past week would have a tough time arguing that
lunacy is not the currency of exchange today at 1601
Pennsylvania Avenue.
It was John Kerry’s “global test”
remark during the first debate that got their tongues
wagging. It would serve voters well to read Kerry’s
comment again in its entirety:
No president, through all of American history,
has ever ceded, and nor would I, the right to preempt
in any way necessary to protect the United States
of America. But if and when you do it, Jim, you
have to do it in a way that passes the test, that
passes the global test where your countrymen, your
people understand fully why you're doing what you're
doing and you can prove to the world that you did
it for legitimate reasons.
To which George W. Bush replied:
I’m not exactly sure what you mean, “passes
the global test,” you take preemptive action
if you pass a global test?
It’s not surprising that George would freak
out at hearing he might have to pass a test. And while
we can forgive him for not immediately comprehending
Kerry’s comment (his facial expressions belied
“I’m not sure exactly what you mean...”
thoughts throughout the debate), we are in serious
trouble when Condi Rice, his National Security Advisor,
echoes the same refrain after the debate.
In fact, every security minded citizen in the United
States should be truly frightened. Why? Because the
Bush administration’s unbridled disregard for
legitimacy has made another terrorist attack on the
homeland far more likely. Sloughing off proofs like
a whore’s knickers, the President has erected
Uncle Sam in his own reckless image, perceived internationally
as roguish even by our oldest friends. Among European
and Asian communities there is a growing feeling that
if Bush is re-elected America deserves whatever it
gets. When pressed, these critics admit they don’t
actually wish another terror attack on the United
States; they simply are frustrated and don’t
much care anymore.
But, as the Global Terrorism Report warns, we do
need the international community to care, and not
just care, but to go out of its way to help us in
this fight. In other words, we need that very same
outpouring of compassion and camaraderie the world
showed the United States in the wake of 9/11, when
brand USA was at its strongest.
John Kerry realizes this and wants to pull our pals
back onboard. George W. Bush, on the other hand, just
keeps pissing on them. I suppose old habits are hard
to break.
| D.A. Blyler is the author of
the novel Steffi’s Club. His essays have
appeared at Salon.com, The Korean Herald, Bangkok’s
The Nation, and other international and online
publications. A lecturer at Rajabhat University
Rajanagarindra, he makes his home in Thailand.
His latest novel can be purchased at Amazon.com. |
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