Reversing unilateralism in the age of nuclear proliferation

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By Jack Bolton (about the author) Page 1 of 1 page(s)

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For OpEdNews: Jack Bolton - Writer

A rising tide of violence appears to be surging in not only Iraq, but also in Afghanistan and Lebanon. Both Iran and North Korea appear well on their way to not only having nuclear weapons, but Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles that could deliver them to the United States and the rest of the world in a matter of minutes.

In Somalia, chaotic violence has given way to the establishment of a new extremist Islamic regime, appearing to give terrorist groups a new haven for training camps and planning future attacks on the west.

World events appear to be spiraling out of control despite the tremendous amount of military force that we've seen used by the United States in the past five years. Why is this happening? Why has the Bush Administration's strategy failed to bring freedom and stability to the Middle East?

The answers can be found in the words of people like Vietnam-era Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara and former National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, who have gone public with criticisms of the Bush-Cheney Doctrine of unilateral intervention.

The Bush-Cheney doctrine: attack your potential enemies before you really even know they're an enemy worth attacking. It states that America can no longer afford to wait for evidence to support military action. It says we must act now. We must act against them before they act against America, even if it's not entirely clear they ever will.

This doctrine is essentially paranoia on a massive scale. Paranoia of the entire national security apparatus. Wild goose chases abound. Everyone is chasing everything, meaning far fewer people are left to chase those people and things that actually threaten us.

This has resulted in a situation in which America is unable to convince Iran, North Korea, extremists in Somalia, or genocidal dictators in the Sudan that they might face a realistic threat of American military intervention. About the only person still claiming to be afraid of America is Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Thinking that America is already overcommitted in Iraq, the rogue regimes launch ICBM's into the sea and continue down the path to building a nuclear bomb. We seemingly can't stop Iran as Israel had stopped Iraq in 1981. In that year, Israeli fighter planes blew up the 70-megawatt uranium-powered reactor that Saddam intended to use for making nuclear bombs.

Given that these security threats endanger not only America, but the entire world, the United States must abandon the Bush-Cheney doctrine of unilateralism. The Bush Administration must admit their mistakes, so that the members of the United Nations can begin to realize their proper role in the solution. They must help the United States now, or else face the grim realities of extremist regimes and terrorists having nuclear weapons at some point in the very near future.

Not a single country in Europe or Asia is completely free of extremist groups who Iran could potentially arm with a nuclear device. Not a single one of them can afford to sit idle as the world comes closer to that being a reality. How do they feel about Muslim extremists from Chechnya or Xinjiang suddenly having access to nuclear weapons? This is the case the Bush Administration must make to the world. Hopefully it will be made by the Administration and accepted by other major world powers before it's too late.

Jack is a philanthropist, industrialist, and former member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

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