25 May 2010
By Ramzy Baroud When former
US President George W. Bush left the White House, he
left behind one of the most unpleasant legacies in
history. He redefined the US’ role in world affairs,
tainted the country’s reputation, and left his
successor with a political inheritance that seemed
almost irrevocable. This, of course, says nothing of
the terrible toll Bush’s policies inflicted on
millions of innocent people, many of whom have so
unjustly suffered and perished, and many more who are
still held hostage to unyielding pain. While
reputable author and world renowned journalist Deepak
Tripathi agrees with this grim view, he doesn’t think
all is lost. He believes that there is still a chance,
an opportunity even to redress the injustice and
reverse the terrible mistakes that were made.
A compelling
writer and a meticulous researcher, Tripathi’s work is
both gripping and comprehensive. His latest book,
Overcoming The Bush Legacy in Iraq and Afghanistan
serves as a glaring reminder of what military power
can do when it goes unchecked, and when it is combined
with religious fanaticism or misguided political
ideology. The book’s
first chapter starts with a quote by Abraham Lincoln,
and it ends with another by Martin Luther King Jr,
which serve as a clear indication of Tripathi’s own
moral stances. Tripathi courageously exposes the
policies of the Bush administration and its
neoconservative clique, which took advantage of the
terrible attacks of September 11, 2001 to reassert the
authority of a weakening superpower. But the push to
reclaim America’s standing actually preceded the
terrorist attacks. In fact, Tripathi claims that “the
ideological vehicle used to get George W. Bush elected
to the White House in November 2000 was the Project
for the New American Century (PNAC). Several of its
founders were close to Bush and secured key positions
in his first administration.” This
assertion is of immense importance. In its statement
of Principles, dated June 3, 1997, PNAC warned of the
“danger of squandering the opportunity and failing the
challenge,” because the US seems to lack “the resolve
to shape a century favorable to American principles
and interests.” One of the recommendations was to
“increase the defense spending significantly if we are
to carry out our global responsibilities today and
modernize our armed forces for the future.”
But with the
Cold War being settled in favor of the US, there
seemed little need to invest in what the
neoconservatives saw as an acceptance of
“responsibility of America’s unique role in preserving
and extending an international order friendly to our
security.” September 11
was the very opportunity which allowed the militancy
of a small, detached and very influential group to
define and eventually dictate the policies of the
United States. “We stand together to win the war
against terrorism,” Bush said on September 11. This
was not simply a declaration of war against an elusive
enemy, but also a declaration of unreserved violence
and political imprudence, a blank check to reconfigure
the world. Tripathi has
done a superb job in addressing this topic. His
successful approach is largely owed to his ability to
locate the book within a most suitable historical and
intellectual, as opposed to a purely political or
event-driven context. This approach is a direct
challenge to those who wish to examine the Bush legacy
with September 11 as a starting point. Such a point
might be considered rational, but it in fact
represents a reductionist approach to history, and can
only allow a limited understanding of its
consequences. Tripathi has no such illusions.
In ‘With Us
or Without Us’, Tripathi emphasizes that a better
understanding of the war in Afghanistan requires a
historical analysis of the US-Pakistan relations that
takes us to the Regan administration, and even
earlier. Important names, dates and events appear in
that historical examination, and are quickly tied into
the immediate past and present. Without such context,
there can be no true understanding of what took place
in Afghanistan under the Bush regime, and what
continues to unfold there. Tripathi’s narrative
replaces the media’s caricatured account of both wars,
and instead provides an objective study of rational
events and those who shaped them. Indeed, it
was not Bush and his neoconservative friends alone who
wrought such disasters to the world. A whole array of
individuals provided political cover and even, to a
lesser extent, material support. In ‘The Battle for
Afghanistan’, Tripathi shows how the likes of Tony
Blair and Silvio Berlusconi colluded with Bush’s War
on Terror. The bombs began falling on Afghanistan on
October 7, 2001 and are yet to cease falling, despite
the fact that Bush is no longer in the White House.
This is
largely what makes Tripathi’s book so important. It is
not about Bush as a man, but Bush’s legacy. This
legacy is an inheritance of other political legacies
of various administrations and numerous interests. It
continues to engulf, if not control US foreign policy
to the present day. To detain that perpetual
deterioration in world affairs, a proper
deconstruction of history is a must. But why
should we reiterate what we already know? Isn’t enough
that most of us at least acknowledge already that to
link Iraq to al-Qaeda and September 11, 2001 is
absurd? That the weapons of mass destruction
allegations were a baseless concoction and a complete
fraud? No, it is not enough. A better understanding of
the world doesn’t automatically make it a better
place. Whether we like it or not, Bush and the
neoconservatives got away with serious crimes. And the
peoples of both Afghanistan and Iraq continue to
suffer. The US must
and will withdraw from both countries, largely because
the stubborn resistance of their peoples will
eventually prevail. However, Americans must discuss
more than “an exist strategy”. They should also
discuss how they got there in the first place, when
they supposedly had a democratic system with political
transparency and accountability. Obama might someday
act upon his promises to shut down the US gulag at
Guantánamo Bay, but the challenge will remain in
understanding how America allowed few individuals to
suspend such basic principles as habeas corpus, which
Tripathi so ably traced to the Magna Carta under King
John of England back in June 1215. Deepak
Tripathi’s Overcoming the Bush Legacy in Iraq and
Afghanistan gives us a well structured understanding
of a seemingly chaotic legacy, and answers many of the
innumerable unanswered questions. It is an honest and
formidable attempt at understanding one of the darkest
periods in the history of America and the world. We
owe him more than a thank you. He deserves an earnest
attempt from us to understand his book, and to act
upon his counsel. Click here
http://deepaktripathi.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/overcoming-the-bush-legacy-in-iraq-and-afghanistan/
to learn more or order the book. -
Ramzy Baroud (www.ramzybaroud.net)
is an internationally-syndicated columnist and the
editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His latest book is
"My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story"
(Pluto Press, London), now available on Amazon.com. Comments 💬 التعليقات |