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Charles Mercieca, Ph.D.
President, International Association of Educators for World Peace
Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,
Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament
Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University
Since the sad event of September 11, 2001, which demolished the twin towers in New York and a portion of the Pentagon in Washington, DC, President George W. Bush felt the responsibility to give a lesson to the whole world. This could be summarized as follows: You cannot attack America and get away with it. So, he immediately resorted to machismo instead of diplomacy. He quickly set his mind on capturing Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan who was deemed to be the major architect behind the mentioned tragic event.
Solving Political Problems Militarily
To this end, he sent all the military might he could muster in central Asia. While he told the whole world that he wanted to destroy all military installations and possible hiding places of terrorists, his military destroyed eventually the infrastructure of Afghanistan. This included the destruction of hospitals, schools, places of worship, and, above all, residential areas that sent tens of thousands of innocent people to their grave. Most of these people were women, children, the elderly and the sick.
Needless to say, other tens of thousands were maimed. They were ruined for life either physically or psychologically. When it was found that the politics of machismo were not really working, then Bush turned his eyes on Iraq where he said that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destructions and that he was harboring terrorists. Ironically, in the tragic event of September 11 there were 19 terrorists that were found to be directly involved in the event.
About half of these were from Saudi Arabia and not even one of them was from Iraq. Yet, Saudi Arabia was viewed to this day as the American friend and ally, while Iraq was pinpointed as “dangerous to American interests” and later even dubbed as “dangerous to American security.” These two phrases in American politics have been so much misused and abused that today hardly anyone can figure out exactly what they mean within the context when US government officials use them.
So, Bush felt that the sooner he would show the entire world his ferociously biting teeth, the less likely that the repetition of the New York event would take place. In other words, he wanted to instill in prospective terrorists fear in an effort to have them brought under full control. Unfortunately, that proved to be his Achilles heel. As a matter of fact, terrorists could be brought under control almost by any means except fear. This was revealed from the great risks they take and from the increasing suicide bombers they managed to recruit.
Using Iraq as Scapegoat
Until the USA decided to invade Iraq, Saddam Hussein posed no threat to the American nation. There were no terrorist organizations in Iraq. With this in mind, Pope John Paul II warned President Bush on three occasions that the invasion of Iraq would be a grave mistake. Such an invasion would create great conflicts between Christians and Arabs and the various segments within the Islamic religion. Also, the Pope added that Iraq might develop into a ground of long range conflicts that may affect the stability of the region for a long time.
Since President Bush has proven himself to be a man who never gives anyone the benefit of doubt, he simply ignored the serious warning of the Pope and proceeded with the invasion. All this was instigated from the machismo he adopted to demonstrate to the world that you cannot hurt the United States and get a way free with it. Unfortunately, the whole world today is witnessing with crystal clarity the mess that Pope John Paul II predicted should the US proceeds with its intention of invading Iraq.
As a result, today the world at large has considerably less trust in the United States as a world leader than it had before the invasion of Iraq. This has also vindicated what Nelson Mandela remarked that same week the Untied States invaded Iraq when he said: “The United States has emerged to become the most dangerous country on earth.” In fact, nowadays quite a number of nations in Asia are beginning to feel more comfortable doing business with China than with the United States.
Besides, since the world at large has increasingly rejected the United States as a world leader, many nations are now looking for the European Union (EU) to fill up the vacuum of world leadership left by the USA. The United States today would have emerged to become the most respected nation on earth, if after the event of September 11, this nation demonstrated elaborate diplomatic skills rather than hasty machismo by using the military to justify the law of the jungle. This stems from the fact that the military, by its very nature, is not accountable to anyone for anything it does, no matter how atrocious and inhumane it may be.
Since the Americans invaded Iraq, well over 600,000 have been massacred innocently and brutally, not to mention the fact that tens of thousands lost their home and all of their belongings. The presence of American troops in Iraq has instilled in many Iraqis deep resentment and hatred for the United States. Young children who lost their parents and quite a number of their relatives feel very upset and they already seem determined to do something drastic when they grow up. In fact, this should make us take our actions more responsibly.
Sowing Seed for Future Jihads
When such children were asked by humanitarian Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) of the United Nations the question: “What would you like to do when you grow up?” the answer from some 80% of them was quick: “Killing Americans!” When the second question was raised: “Why do you want to do that?” The reply was equally quick: “Because the Americans have killed my father, my mother, my brother, my sister and my friends. The Americans have destroyed our homes with all of our belongings.”
They also added,”We cannot attend school anymore and get food as easily as we used to have it before the Americans invaded our country.” At one time members of these NGOs, which were basically humanitarian in their structure, asked young teenagers who were nicely dressed in uniform in schools that were functioning: “What do you think it could be done to have this entire mess in Iraq coming to an end?” Without hesitation they came up with a unanimous answer: “We want for all Americans to leave Iraq; we want them to just leave us alone.”
So, the first logical step for the United States to clear the way for peace and stability in Iraq is to pull out all of its military forces from there with no further delay. The USA, as well as any other nation, should keep in mind that the resorting to the military to get what you want is synonymous to resorting to violence which breeds more violence. This explains why we witness so much violence in Iraq. Ironically, Bush constantly prides himself of his elimination of Saddam Hussein whom he described as a brutal and tyrannical dictator.
At the same time, Bush has been talking for four years of his resolve to bring democracy and freedom to the Iraqi people. In democracy, the majority have the last say. In the USA Bush listens to what everyone has to say and then instead of following the majority, he dumps everyone including the majority of the American people and does what he likes. In the recent elections the American people decided to replace the Republicans by Democrats to make sure that there will be no more funding for the Iraqi war and that all US troops will pulled out from Iraq immediately and brought home.
The vast majority of Democrats and several Republicans in the US government have also demanded that the US troops would begin to withdraw from Iraq immediately. Yet, President Bush defied them all and he decided not only to continue to let the US troops in Iraq but to add another 21,500 more. This action might have been expected from Saddam Hussein, but not from George W. Bush who wants to bring something to Iraq he cannot deliver at home, namely, democracy by following the will of the majority!
Bringing Democracy and Freedom to Iraq
Some scholars of political science tell us that Bush has been making one mistake after another since he first took office as president in 2001. But what bothers many is that he says one thing and does another. Like scholastic philosophers used to say: “Nemo dat quod non habet – you cannot give something that you do not have.” We need to view the irony of President Bush in trying to bring democracy to Iraq when he has not practiced it in his own country. This is not a matter of opinion since we are here dealing with tangible evidence.
Besides, Bush wants to bring freedom to the Iraqi people when he deprived the American people from so much freedom of movement and even of purchasing vital items of their choice. For example, Americans are not allowed to visit Cuba and a few others countries while Canadians and people from numerous other nations are allowed to move around freely anywhere they like. Also, Americans are not allowed to have the freedom to buy cheap medicine from overseas, including the next neighboring country Canada.
The question again that has been raised is this: How can Bush dare to say that he wants to bring freedom to the Iraqi people when he has deprived his American people from so much freedom already? This has plunged the current US president into the greatest problem of his presidency, namely, conspicuous lack of credibility not only at home but virtually around the world. As a result, this has damaged American political leadership not only within the USA but with nations across every continent.
For those who might have developed the habit to pray for President George W. Bush, they should ask God to give this man the gift of listening and the ability to see things into proper perspective. They should ask fervently to God to replace his stubbornness with meekness and his pride with humility. They should also request God to bless this man with the gift of repentance for having been responsible for so much human suffering with his decision to invade Iraq, an action that was viewed on a global scale to be both illegal and immoral, as Bishop Desmond Tutu and others like him have stated so clearly.
It is quite obvious that the Bush plan in Iraq will not work. Like several US Senators and Congressmen have stated, the increase of military presence in Iraq will escalate violence. Thousands of innocent Iraqis and good young American boys and girls fighting there would be losing their lives unnecessarily. Among those who refer to the Bush plan as a grievous mistake we find Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator John Edwards as well as Rep. Dennis Kucinich all of whom were once presidential candidates themselves.
Never Late to Correct Mistakes
As stated earlier, Bush is said to have committed one mistake after another since he assumed the presidency in 2001. Instead of trying to create a strong demilitarized political force in Iraq for the future stability of this nation and the entire region, as a matter of fact, he tried to rebuild the Iraqi military and showed determination to depend on the Iraqi military to keep the upheaval of the nation under control. This policy of building up a strong Iraqi military for the stability of the Iraqi nation reveals two fallacies or mistakes as follows:
1. Many Iraqis view this Iraqi military build up by the USA merely as an American puppet regime who is and will remain controlled by the USA for its own corporate and political interests. This explains in part why so many Iraqis have turned against this Iraqi military that has been virtually installed by the United States. They identify this Iraqi military with the USA which they hate.
2. Since World War II was over, the USA installed military regimes in quite a few nations. Later they were overthrown by a new regime that revealed great hostility toward the USA. This was the case with Iran under the Shah that was later overthrown by the Ayatollah Khomeini who described the USA as Satan. The military aid given to the Shah was then used to destroy US interests!
As a result of Bush’s reliance on the military, the world should not be surprised if one day a military coup takes place in Iraq that would bring a notorious leader in power. Usually, ruthless leaders of nations around the world generally came from the military. We need to keep in mind that it is never wise to correct mistakes by committing other mistakes. This makes no sense at all.
The American people made it clear that they are fully fed up with the continuation of the war in Iraq. To this end, they want to cut off immediately further funding for the Iraqi War and to bring all American troops back home with no further delay while they are still alive. Let’s hope that the new US Democratic government would abide by the decision the American people have taken recently in their country.
President, International Association of Educators for World Peace
Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education,
Environmental Protection, Human Rights & Disarmament
Professor Emeritus, Alabama A&M University
Since the sad event of September 11, 2001, which demolished the twin towers in New York and a portion of the Pentagon in Washington, DC, President George W. Bush felt the responsibility to give a lesson to the whole world. This could be summarized as follows: You cannot attack America and get away with it. So, he immediately resorted to machismo instead of diplomacy. He quickly set his mind on capturing Osama Bin Laden in Afghanistan who was deemed to be the major architect behind the mentioned tragic event.
Solving Political Problems Militarily
To this end, he sent all the military might he could muster in central Asia. While he told the whole world that he wanted to destroy all military installations and possible hiding places of terrorists, his military destroyed eventually the infrastructure of Afghanistan. This included the destruction of hospitals, schools, places of worship, and, above all, residential areas that sent tens of thousands of innocent people to their grave. Most of these people were women, children, the elderly and the sick.
Needless to say, other tens of thousands were maimed. They were ruined for life either physically or psychologically. When it was found that the politics of machismo were not really working, then Bush turned his eyes on Iraq where he said that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destructions and that he was harboring terrorists. Ironically, in the tragic event of September 11 there were 19 terrorists that were found to be directly involved in the event.
About half of these were from Saudi Arabia and not even one of them was from Iraq. Yet, Saudi Arabia was viewed to this day as the American friend and ally, while Iraq was pinpointed as “dangerous to American interests” and later even dubbed as “dangerous to American security.” These two phrases in American politics have been so much misused and abused that today hardly anyone can figure out exactly what they mean within the context when US government officials use them.
So, Bush felt that the sooner he would show the entire world his ferociously biting teeth, the less likely that the repetition of the New York event would take place. In other words, he wanted to instill in prospective terrorists fear in an effort to have them brought under full control. Unfortunately, that proved to be his Achilles heel. As a matter of fact, terrorists could be brought under control almost by any means except fear. This was revealed from the great risks they take and from the increasing suicide bombers they managed to recruit.
Using Iraq as Scapegoat
Until the USA decided to invade Iraq, Saddam Hussein posed no threat to the American nation. There were no terrorist organizations in Iraq. With this in mind, Pope John Paul II warned President Bush on three occasions that the invasion of Iraq would be a grave mistake. Such an invasion would create great conflicts between Christians and Arabs and the various segments within the Islamic religion. Also, the Pope added that Iraq might develop into a ground of long range conflicts that may affect the stability of the region for a long time.
Since President Bush has proven himself to be a man who never gives anyone the benefit of doubt, he simply ignored the serious warning of the Pope and proceeded with the invasion. All this was instigated from the machismo he adopted to demonstrate to the world that you cannot hurt the United States and get a way free with it. Unfortunately, the whole world today is witnessing with crystal clarity the mess that Pope John Paul II predicted should the US proceeds with its intention of invading Iraq.
As a result, today the world at large has considerably less trust in the United States as a world leader than it had before the invasion of Iraq. This has also vindicated what Nelson Mandela remarked that same week the Untied States invaded Iraq when he said: “The United States has emerged to become the most dangerous country on earth.” In fact, nowadays quite a number of nations in Asia are beginning to feel more comfortable doing business with China than with the United States.
Besides, since the world at large has increasingly rejected the United States as a world leader, many nations are now looking for the European Union (EU) to fill up the vacuum of world leadership left by the USA. The United States today would have emerged to become the most respected nation on earth, if after the event of September 11, this nation demonstrated elaborate diplomatic skills rather than hasty machismo by using the military to justify the law of the jungle. This stems from the fact that the military, by its very nature, is not accountable to anyone for anything it does, no matter how atrocious and inhumane it may be.
Since the Americans invaded Iraq, well over 600,000 have been massacred innocently and brutally, not to mention the fact that tens of thousands lost their home and all of their belongings. The presence of American troops in Iraq has instilled in many Iraqis deep resentment and hatred for the United States. Young children who lost their parents and quite a number of their relatives feel very upset and they already seem determined to do something drastic when they grow up. In fact, this should make us take our actions more responsibly.
Sowing Seed for Future Jihads
When such children were asked by humanitarian Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) of the United Nations the question: “What would you like to do when you grow up?” the answer from some 80% of them was quick: “Killing Americans!” When the second question was raised: “Why do you want to do that?” The reply was equally quick: “Because the Americans have killed my father, my mother, my brother, my sister and my friends. The Americans have destroyed our homes with all of our belongings.”
They also added,”We cannot attend school anymore and get food as easily as we used to have it before the Americans invaded our country.” At one time members of these NGOs, which were basically humanitarian in their structure, asked young teenagers who were nicely dressed in uniform in schools that were functioning: “What do you think it could be done to have this entire mess in Iraq coming to an end?” Without hesitation they came up with a unanimous answer: “We want for all Americans to leave Iraq; we want them to just leave us alone.”
So, the first logical step for the United States to clear the way for peace and stability in Iraq is to pull out all of its military forces from there with no further delay. The USA, as well as any other nation, should keep in mind that the resorting to the military to get what you want is synonymous to resorting to violence which breeds more violence. This explains why we witness so much violence in Iraq. Ironically, Bush constantly prides himself of his elimination of Saddam Hussein whom he described as a brutal and tyrannical dictator.
At the same time, Bush has been talking for four years of his resolve to bring democracy and freedom to the Iraqi people. In democracy, the majority have the last say. In the USA Bush listens to what everyone has to say and then instead of following the majority, he dumps everyone including the majority of the American people and does what he likes. In the recent elections the American people decided to replace the Republicans by Democrats to make sure that there will be no more funding for the Iraqi war and that all US troops will pulled out from Iraq immediately and brought home.
The vast majority of Democrats and several Republicans in the US government have also demanded that the US troops would begin to withdraw from Iraq immediately. Yet, President Bush defied them all and he decided not only to continue to let the US troops in Iraq but to add another 21,500 more. This action might have been expected from Saddam Hussein, but not from George W. Bush who wants to bring something to Iraq he cannot deliver at home, namely, democracy by following the will of the majority!
Bringing Democracy and Freedom to Iraq
Some scholars of political science tell us that Bush has been making one mistake after another since he first took office as president in 2001. But what bothers many is that he says one thing and does another. Like scholastic philosophers used to say: “Nemo dat quod non habet – you cannot give something that you do not have.” We need to view the irony of President Bush in trying to bring democracy to Iraq when he has not practiced it in his own country. This is not a matter of opinion since we are here dealing with tangible evidence.
Besides, Bush wants to bring freedom to the Iraqi people when he deprived the American people from so much freedom of movement and even of purchasing vital items of their choice. For example, Americans are not allowed to visit Cuba and a few others countries while Canadians and people from numerous other nations are allowed to move around freely anywhere they like. Also, Americans are not allowed to have the freedom to buy cheap medicine from overseas, including the next neighboring country Canada.
The question again that has been raised is this: How can Bush dare to say that he wants to bring freedom to the Iraqi people when he has deprived his American people from so much freedom already? This has plunged the current US president into the greatest problem of his presidency, namely, conspicuous lack of credibility not only at home but virtually around the world. As a result, this has damaged American political leadership not only within the USA but with nations across every continent.
For those who might have developed the habit to pray for President George W. Bush, they should ask God to give this man the gift of listening and the ability to see things into proper perspective. They should ask fervently to God to replace his stubbornness with meekness and his pride with humility. They should also request God to bless this man with the gift of repentance for having been responsible for so much human suffering with his decision to invade Iraq, an action that was viewed on a global scale to be both illegal and immoral, as Bishop Desmond Tutu and others like him have stated so clearly.
It is quite obvious that the Bush plan in Iraq will not work. Like several US Senators and Congressmen have stated, the increase of military presence in Iraq will escalate violence. Thousands of innocent Iraqis and good young American boys and girls fighting there would be losing their lives unnecessarily. Among those who refer to the Bush plan as a grievous mistake we find Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator John Edwards as well as Rep. Dennis Kucinich all of whom were once presidential candidates themselves.
Never Late to Correct Mistakes
As stated earlier, Bush is said to have committed one mistake after another since he assumed the presidency in 2001. Instead of trying to create a strong demilitarized political force in Iraq for the future stability of this nation and the entire region, as a matter of fact, he tried to rebuild the Iraqi military and showed determination to depend on the Iraqi military to keep the upheaval of the nation under control. This policy of building up a strong Iraqi military for the stability of the Iraqi nation reveals two fallacies or mistakes as follows:
1. Many Iraqis view this Iraqi military build up by the USA merely as an American puppet regime who is and will remain controlled by the USA for its own corporate and political interests. This explains in part why so many Iraqis have turned against this Iraqi military that has been virtually installed by the United States. They identify this Iraqi military with the USA which they hate.
2. Since World War II was over, the USA installed military regimes in quite a few nations. Later they were overthrown by a new regime that revealed great hostility toward the USA. This was the case with Iran under the Shah that was later overthrown by the Ayatollah Khomeini who described the USA as Satan. The military aid given to the Shah was then used to destroy US interests!
As a result of Bush’s reliance on the military, the world should not be surprised if one day a military coup takes place in Iraq that would bring a notorious leader in power. Usually, ruthless leaders of nations around the world generally came from the military. We need to keep in mind that it is never wise to correct mistakes by committing other mistakes. This makes no sense at all.
The American people made it clear that they are fully fed up with the continuation of the war in Iraq. To this end, they want to cut off immediately further funding for the Iraqi War and to bring all American troops back home with no further delay while they are still alive. Let’s hope that the new US Democratic government would abide by the decision the American people have taken recently in their country.