A rchive Date
[ 01-09-2002 ]
Category
[ International Relations ]
sub-Categoy
[ U.S ]
|
[http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/mansur_toronto.html
America's dilemma as the world's colossus
By SALIM MANSUR -- For the Toronto Sun
September 1, 2002
LONDON, Ont. - The ongoing debate within President George Bush's administration on pushing for a regime change in Iraq is of far-reaching consequence for the United States and the world.
The media focus on this debate has been narrow, and President Bush has not helped his own administration by personalizing his antipathy for Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi despot.
There is little doubt among America's allies, including those in the Arab region, about the world being a safer place without Saddam. Those who think otherwise cannot be taken seriously.
The debate is about how America should exercise its power and influence in a post-Sept. 11 world, and not merely about the rights and wrongs of bringing a regime change in Iraq.
Since the Cold War ended, it has become clear that America, far from being a nation in decline as many had thought, is so far ahead of any other nation or combination of nations in terms of all the indices of power - economic, technological, cultural, military - there is no precedent in history for such a situation.
Prior to Sept. 11, as during the presidential election of 2000, much of the debate within the U.S. was about domestic politics. President Bush, then the Republican candidate for the White House, was more concerned about tax cuts and, in general, opposed to American involvements abroad.
Sept. 11 awakened Americans to a new and grisly reality. President Bush then had to change focus from his domestic agenda to foreign policy, for which he was not well prepared.
Few outside the U.S. fully comprehend Americans' sense of outrage over what happened on Sept. 11.
Irrespective of how primitive the thinking and resources of Osama bin Laden and his network of Muslim bigots and fanatics are, they struck at the heart of America - and would have done even more if the fourth hijacked plane had succeeded in crashing into the Capitol building or the White House.
The only immediate question about America's war on terrorism following Sept. 11 was whether it would be waged unilaterally by the United States, or if other countries would join in this effort. Others did, and we have the results, on the balance for the better, to be seen in a new Afghanistan slowly in the making.
But the Bush administration, in raising the matter of Saddam, and unfinished business from the Gulf war of 1991, brought into focus the dilemma with the policy of waging a war on terrorism, since terrorism is neither a state, nor a regime, as an identifiable fixed target against which a conclusive war may be waged, but a concept as elusive as those who planned Sept. 11.
Terrorism cannot be eliminated so long as the swamps of despair and neglect in the Middle East and elsewhere are not drained. This will need the co-operation of states around the world, and the solution is not entirely military.
But when states, or regimes such as that of Saddam, engage in rogue behaviour, then who will police them becomes a concern of international law. The difficulty is that the world of states through the United Nations may acknowledge rogue behaviour as unacceptable, but may not be able to reach a consensus on an effective police action until it's too late.
Hence, the significance of the debate within the Bush administration over Iraq.
America may act alone, justifiably, in the context of Sept. 11 to bring regime change in Iraq, but it is far better that it acts on the basis of a consensus with its allies as it did in Afghanistan and in ending the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait in 1991.
America's allies, somewhat hypocritically, are just as unwilling to support American unilateralism in global security matters, even when evidence may warrant pre-emptive action, as they are unprepared to accept American isolationism in global politics.
This is America's dilemma as the greatest power since ancient Rome. Even as it presently towers over the rest, it still needs them in a world where being alone is not a comfortable thought.
Salim Mansur is a professor of political science at the University of Western Ontario. His column appears alternate Thursdays. Letters to the editor should be sent to editor@sunpub.com.
 World Fact Book (CIA)]
|