Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 40 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing
Exclusive to OpEd News:
OpEdNews Op Eds   

How George Bush Has Weakened America, and How that Explains Why the World is Falling Apart

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   6 comments
Follow Me on Twitter     Message Andrew Schmookler
Become a Fan
  (31 fans)
When former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright described the United States as the "indispensable nation," some thought she was presumptuous. But the deterioration of the international system under the power-hungry, arrogant and incompetent Bush administration has proved Albright was right.

The international order is breaking apart before our eyes, largely because the world's leading nation has been badly led.

The deterioration of the geopolitical system has become even more visible with the new outbreak in the long-simmering Arab-Israeli conflict.

Meanwhile, the international community is quickly getting nowhere with persuading Iran to abandon its apparent quest to develop nuclear weapons. The efforts of the big powers to bring North Korea into line have been equally futile. And with that regime even more defiant and belligerent than usual, Japan -almost pacifist since World War II-- has lately threatened a preventive strike against North Korean missile sites. In Iraq, the bloodbath continues, the supposed American liberation of that country having produced instead a low-level civil war. And the souring of relations between the United States and Russia has led to talk of "a new Cold War."

The world is now far more dangerous -more chaotic, more rife with conflict-than it was five and a half years ago when the Bush administration began to remake the American role in the world. This increasing disorder is directly traceable to the choices the Bushites have made in wielding American power.

The Wages of Sin

The Bush administration came to power determined to extend American dominance and to reject all limitations on their freedom of action on the world stage. Even before 9/11, it had acted provocatively with China, it had thrown off the restraints of various multilateral agreements and treaties, and it had demonstrated a tendency to dictate to, rather than consult with, our traditional allies.

The worldwide wave of sympathy in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 was quickly squandered as the Bushites moved -with abrasive arrogance-toward a war of choice in Iraq. America was seen less as a trusted world leader and more as a global bully, an imperialist power, a threat to world peace.

The world saw America acting like a 500-pound gorilla that does whatever it wants. It saw the Bush regime's contemptuous indifference to international law and its indecent disrespect for the opinion of mankind. And it saw the administration's deceptions about Iraqi WMDs-deceptions that appeared to be a cover for a hidden imperialist agenda.

Other great powers -like China and Russia-began to align against the United States. (The Russians and the Chinese have formed, for example, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a regional security grouping which excludes the U.S.) Even the Europeans ceased to look to the United States for leadership, and have even looked for ways to counter American power.

Opinion polls even among the populations of America's traditional allies showed a sharp increase in distrust of and hostility toward the United States. And with American troops occupying Iraq, the Islamic world became more intensely anti-American, and the rift between Islam and the West deepened still further.

Bush's haughtiness toward adversaries has compounded his difficulties. The Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal lost no time in provoking North Korea by indicating its lack of interest in talking with a regime they hoped would soon disappear. This fundamental miscalculation made a bad situation much worse.

Similarly in the Middle East, the Bushites spurned overtures from Iran, imagining that they would be able to force regime change on that country. There, too, their arrogant overconfidence has undermined the American position, contributing to the fecklessness of American efforts to block the emergence of a nuclear-armed Iran. And now, with the Middle East aflame, the United States finds itself ill-positioned to talk with some of the major actors whose help might be needed to defuse this dangerous situation.

To all this damage, add the high cost to American power of the Bush administration's bungling of its venture in Iraq. A whole sequence of major blunders and miscalculations by this regime in Iraq since the invasion -as described by Larry Diamond, of the conservative Hoover Institution, in his book, Squandered Victory-created a mess that's been a tremendous drain on American military resources and treasure, further weakening the American capacity to deal with other threats and crises.

Most of those blunders in Iraq grew out of the Bush administration's unwarranted certainty that it already knew all it needed to know. With their arrogant sense of their mastery of the world they were operating in, the Bushites turned a deaf ear to the good counsel from many -in and out of the American government-who understood better than they what it would take to win the peace in Iraq.

The resulting disaster has greatly undermined the American position in the "war on terror." The Bush administration declared that the greatest danger was that some rogue regime with weapons of mass destruction would hand over such weapons to terrorists. And in conjunction with that fear Bush identified an "Axis of Evil": Iraq, Iran, and North Korea.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Rate It | View Ratings

Andrew Schmookler Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

Andy Schmookler, an award-winning author, political commentator, radio talk-show host, and teacher, was the Democratic nominee for Congress from Virginia's 6th District. His new book -- written to have an impact on the central political battle of our time -- is (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Follow Me on Twitter     Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter
Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

Why Do Conservatives Like Colbert? Article Plus Critique

Mel Gibson's Rant as Profound Clue

To Anti-Obamite Lefties: It Doesn't Matter If You're Right

How Important is the Loss of Friendship?

# 8 Beliefs that Make Liberal America Weak: Barriers to the Source of Moral and Spiritual Passions

Power and Corruption: Just What Is Their Relationship?

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend