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The emperor has spoken. Let the world
take heed.
Mark the date: March 16, 2003. It
will go down in history as the day our new Caesar crossed his personal
Rubicon. Bush's twin ultimata, to Iraq and to the United Nations,
constituted the final and ultimate declaration of the new New World Order.
The first formal declaration was in
his speech to Congress on September 20, 2001. "Every nation in every
region now has a decision to make. Either you are with us, or you are with
the terrorists." The open implication was that the rule of law, already
honored mostly in the breach, was to be replaced by the rule of force;
that force, naturally, to emanate from Washington.
Over the 1.5 years since then, there
have been numerous reaffirmations -- the launching of the pre-emption
doctrine, the warning to the UN that if it didn't do America's bidding it
would make itself "irrelevant" -- but it was always possible to imagine
that even this reckless administration might be turned back, might at
least at least generate an illusion of a velvet glove in which to cloak
its iron fist.
No more. Bush's declaration was
crafted to lock in the insane and potentially suicidal course that the
administration has taken ever since the attacks of 9/11.
What was really shocking and
terrifying was not simply the effective declaration of war against Iraq;
it has been a foregone conclusion for at least six months that, in the
absence of overwhelming opposition, the war would happen. Rather, it was
the way the ultimatum was delivered. To give Iraq 24 hours to "disarm"
(even while Dick Cheney and Colin Powell make the rounds of talk TV saying
there is no longer a way for Iraq to comply) is openly farcical. An
administration that took a year after 9/11 before it instituted widespread
X-raying of checked bags might be expected to understand this. To give the
Security Council 24 hours to pass a resolution is a naked imperial
imposition.
It is an ultimatum designed not to
elicit any response, but rather to humiliate.
It is also perhaps worth commenting
on the stunningly open mendacity of the Bush administration, continued
with Bush's ultimatum yesterday. To make this declaration on the 15th
anniversary of the gassing of Halabja, to mention it specifically, is a
profound insult not just to the Iraqi people but to all of us; where is
the mention that the United States supported Iraq fully at the time, with
biological and chemical materials, loan guarantees, and diplomatic cover?
That it went so far as to issue organized disinformation (http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0117-01.htm) suggesting that Iran was the culprit? To
mention Rwanda as an example of the "failure" of the UN was possibly even
worse. Again, where was the mention that the UN "failed" because the
United States kept UN peacekeepers from being reinforced, cut off their
supplies, and pushed ceaselessly to have them removed? Or the mention that
the State Department deliberately covered up http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB53/press.html) its clear knowledge that what was happening
was genocide?
Indeed, it is again as if these
references were added simply to display flagrant contempt for the rest of
the world, which may know the truth but consistently feels unable to
express it because of the weight of U.S. coercion.
And perhaps the most important lie
was the reference to France. France has "shown its cards" and "said they
were going to veto anything that held Saddam to account" -- this right on
the heels of Chirac's effective surrender by agreeing to a 30-day deadline
for disarmament.
This was is much bigger than a war on
Iraq. It is a gauntlet hurled in the face of France and the rest of "old
Europe." It is a frontal assault on the concept of democracy worldwide. It
is, if you look at the planning documents (http://www.newamericancentury.org) of the neoconservatives who now run our
foreign policy, the first stage in a long campaign against China.
Yesterday, Bush drew the battle lines
through the entire globe and through the middle of each country. In order
even to begin to understand how to oppose this new imperialism, we must
understand this: weapons of mass destruction have nothing to do with this
war, and even Iraq itself has to do with this war only in the sense that
it is a strategic prize. This war is a small part of an ongoing attempt to
reshape the world.
The target of this war is not Iraq.
The target is the entire world order, and Iraq is simply collateral
damage.
Rahul Mahajan is a founding member
of the Nowar Collective (http://www.nowarcollective.com) and serves on the National Board of Peace Action. His first book,
"The New Crusade: America's War on Terrorism," (http://www.monthlyreview.org/newcrusade.htm) came out in April 2002, and his next book,
"The U.S. War Against Iraq" (http://www.sevenstories.com/Book/index.cfm?GCOI=58322100353810) will be out in April 2003. His articles can
be found at http://www.rahulmahajan.com. He can be contacted at [EMAIL PROTECTED] | 