Seeker of Truth
05-30-2003, 03:34 PM
The New Global Peace Movement vs. the Bush Juggernaut
By Jeremy Brecher | May 28, 2003
Editor: John Gershman, Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC)
The Bush administration is presenting itself to the world as a juggernaut--a "massive, inexorable force that advances irresistibly, crushing whatever is in its path." Bush's National Security Strategy portrays his "war against terrorism" as "a global enterprise of uncertain duration." It says the U.S. will act against "emerging threats before they are fully formed." The Bush administration envisions the coming decades as a continuation of recent U.S. demands, threats, and wars. It intends to continue the aggressive behavior already illustrated by war on Afghanistan and Iraq, armed intervention in the Philippines and Columbia, and threats against Syria, Iran, and North Korea. The Bush administration and its successors are likely to continue this juggernaut until they are made to stop.
As the Bush administration sought global support for its attack on Iraq, the New York Times wrote, "The fracturing of the Western alliance over Iraq and the huge antiwar demonstrations around the world this weekend are reminders that there may still be two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world opinion." But is that "superpower" with which President Bush appeared "eyeball to eyeball" on the eve of the Iraq war really a "tenacious new adversary" or just flash-in-the-pan protest against the inexorable advance of the Bush juggernaut?
Here are some strategies that can make the new global peace movement tenacious and effective in the post-Iraq war period:
Expanding the focus: The U.S. has been the world's dominant superpower throughout the 20th century and has frequently used its military might against isolated opponents. But its power always depended on a system of alliances with other powers, worldwide respect for its system of government, and division among those who would challenge it.
At the core of the Bush administration's new policy is the replacement of such "hegemony" with a world order based on direct U.S. dictation. This shift is enunciated in Bush's National Security Strategy document. In place of self-determination and pluralism, it asserts that there is "a single sustainable model for national success: freedom, democracy, and free enterprise." In place of security through international cooperation, it asserts that the U.S. "will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary, to exercise our right of self-defense by acting preemptively" and by "convincing or compelling states" to accept their "responsibilities" as the U.S. defines them. This shift can be seen in the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq; the threats against Syria, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and even Belgium and France; the scornful undermining of the UN; and the contemptuous treatment of longtime U.S. allies.
More @ presentdanger.org (http://www.presentdanger.org/commentary/2003/0305movement.html)
By Jeremy Brecher | May 28, 2003
Editor: John Gershman, Interhemispheric Resource Center (IRC)
The Bush administration is presenting itself to the world as a juggernaut--a "massive, inexorable force that advances irresistibly, crushing whatever is in its path." Bush's National Security Strategy portrays his "war against terrorism" as "a global enterprise of uncertain duration." It says the U.S. will act against "emerging threats before they are fully formed." The Bush administration envisions the coming decades as a continuation of recent U.S. demands, threats, and wars. It intends to continue the aggressive behavior already illustrated by war on Afghanistan and Iraq, armed intervention in the Philippines and Columbia, and threats against Syria, Iran, and North Korea. The Bush administration and its successors are likely to continue this juggernaut until they are made to stop.
As the Bush administration sought global support for its attack on Iraq, the New York Times wrote, "The fracturing of the Western alliance over Iraq and the huge antiwar demonstrations around the world this weekend are reminders that there may still be two superpowers on the planet: the United States and world opinion." But is that "superpower" with which President Bush appeared "eyeball to eyeball" on the eve of the Iraq war really a "tenacious new adversary" or just flash-in-the-pan protest against the inexorable advance of the Bush juggernaut?
Here are some strategies that can make the new global peace movement tenacious and effective in the post-Iraq war period:
Expanding the focus: The U.S. has been the world's dominant superpower throughout the 20th century and has frequently used its military might against isolated opponents. But its power always depended on a system of alliances with other powers, worldwide respect for its system of government, and division among those who would challenge it.
At the core of the Bush administration's new policy is the replacement of such "hegemony" with a world order based on direct U.S. dictation. This shift is enunciated in Bush's National Security Strategy document. In place of self-determination and pluralism, it asserts that there is "a single sustainable model for national success: freedom, democracy, and free enterprise." In place of security through international cooperation, it asserts that the U.S. "will not hesitate to act alone, if necessary, to exercise our right of self-defense by acting preemptively" and by "convincing or compelling states" to accept their "responsibilities" as the U.S. defines them. This shift can be seen in the attacks on Afghanistan and Iraq; the threats against Syria, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and even Belgium and France; the scornful undermining of the UN; and the contemptuous treatment of longtime U.S. allies.
More @ presentdanger.org (http://www.presentdanger.org/commentary/2003/0305movement.html)