The war is fait accompli (pardon the French); it's time for Mr. Bush to get his fight on, all of the arguments to the contrary matter little at this point the troops are already headed to Baghdad. I am not suggesting that the protestors call it a day, but the time has now come to proactively rethink America's role in the world.
Thus, the point of this column is to reflect on the lessons learned from this exercise in faux diplomacy so that those of us opposed to the Bush administration's megalomania foreign policy can better prepare ourselves the next time. And rest assured there will be a next time.
LESSON ONE: We have power but very little respect.
The world community that was with us in the wake of 9/11 is not present today; as this country's foreign policy has done
everything it could to render the United Nations null and void.
Poppy Bush in the original version of this tired remake could have stopped Saddam alone, but thought better of it. Perhaps the relationships can be repaired during the "democratization of Iraq" phase?
The Bush administration's efforts to include the rest of the world in a "whosoever will let them come to Iraq and join in the rebuilding effort" will not, however, alleviate the bad taste of arrogance that has been left in practically the entire world's mouth.
LESSON TWO: Foreign policy objective(s) can change midstream
Doing his best Faye Dunnaway impersonation in the movie Chinatown, President Bush has flipped flopped on the reasons for war:
"Regime Change! Eminent Threat! Link to Al Qaeda! Regime Change! Eminent Threat! Link to Al Qaeda!"
Thus, the administration has settled on a combo plate for their reasons for war right now that consist of three helpings of the liberation of the Iraqi people, the "one of these days he's going to be an eminent threat," and the "given all that I have said I can't have him still in power when I run in 2004."
LESSON THREE: The prophetic words of Ralph Nader
It was Mr. Nadar who proclaimed that there was not a dime's worth of difference between then candidate
George Bush and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Al Gore. Oh really?
Somehow I doubt that Mr. Gore would have managed to get the United States in a war by alienating over half of the world in the process. I wonder if Gore regrets his decision to run?