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--- Begin Message ----Caveat Lector- http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/05/07/1083911403474.html America is losing the war - and more May 8, 2004The war on terrorism is a war of ideas. The credibility of America's ideas is under threat, writes Thomas L. Friedman. America is in danger of losing something much more important than just the war in Iraq. It is in danger of losing its place as an instrument of moral authority and inspiration in the world. I have never known a time in my life when America and its president were more hated around the world than today. I was recently in Japan, and even young Japanese dislike us Americans. It's no wonder that so many Americans are obsessed with the finale of the TV sitcom Friends right now. They're the only friends Americans have, and even they're leaving. The Bush Administration needs to conduct a total overhaul of its Iraq policy; otherwise it is courting a total disaster for all Americans. That overhaul needs to begin with President George Bush firing his Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld - today, not tomorrow or next month, today. What happened in Abu Ghraib prison was, at best, a fundamental breakdown in the chain of command under Rumsfeld's authority, or, at worst, part of a deliberate policy somewhere in the US military-intelligence command of sexually humiliating prisoners to soften them up for interrogation, a policy that ran amok. Either way, the Defence Secretary is ultimately responsible, and if America is going to rebuild its credibility as an instrument of humanitarian values, the rule of law and democratisation, in Iraq or elsewhere, Bush must hold his own Defence Secretary accountable. Words matter, but deeds matter more. If the Pentagon leadership ran any US company with the kind of abysmal planning in this war, it would have been fired by shareholders months ago. I know that tough interrogations are vital in a war against a merciless enemy, but outright torture, or this sexual-humiliation-for-entertainment, is abhorrent. I also know that the sort of abuse that went on in Abu Ghraib prison goes on in prisons all over the Arab world every day, as it did under Saddam Hussein - without the Arab League or al-Jazeera saying a word about it. I know they are shameful hypocrites, but I want my country to behave better - not only because it is America, but also because the war on terrorism is a war of ideas, and to have any chance of winning we must maintain the credibility of our ideas. We were hit on September 11 by people who believed hateful ideas - ideas too often endorsed by some of their own spiritual leaders and educators back home. We cannot win a war of ideas against such people by ourselves. Only Arabs and Muslims can. What we could do - and this was the only legitimate rationale for this war - was try to help Iraqis create a progressive context in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world where that war of ideas could be fought. But it is hard to become partners with someone when you become so radioactive no one wants to stand next to you. We have to restore some sense of partnership with the world if we are going to successfully partner with Iraqis. Bush needs to invite to Camp David the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, the heads of NATO and the UN, and the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Syria. There, he needs to eat crow, apologise for his mistakes and make clear that he is turning a new page. Second, he needs to explain that we are losing in Iraq, and if we continue to lose then the US public will eventually demand that we quit Iraq, and it will then become Afghanistan on steroids, which will threaten everyone. Third, he needs to say he will be guided by the UN in forming the new caretaker government in Baghdad. And fourth, he needs to explain that he is ready to listen to everyone's ideas about how to expand America's force in Iraq, and have it work under a new UN mandate, so it will have the legitimacy it needs to crush any uprisings against the interim Iraqi government and oversee elections - and then leave when appropriate. And he needs to urge them all to join in. Let's not lose sight of something - as bad as things look in Iraq, it is not yet lost, for one big reason: America's aspirations for Iraq and those of the Iraqi silent majority, particularly Shiites and Kurds, are still aligned. We both want Iraqi self-rule and then free elections. That overlap of interests, however clouded, can still salvage something decent from this war - if the Bush team can finally find the courage to admit its failures and dramatically change course. Yes, the hour is late, but as long as there's a glimmer of hope that this Bush team will do the right thing, we must insist on it, because America's role in the world is too precious - to America and to the rest of the world - to be squandered like this. Three-time Pulitzer Prize winner Thomas L. Friedman is the foreign affairs columnist of The New York Times. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Yahoo! 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That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http://www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
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