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By Ramzy Baroud
The
Democrats' ascendancy within the US Congress could signal the regaining by the
public, of its country's direction.
The
astounding results of the US Congressional elections of 7 November were
undoubtedly a welcome sign of change, not in the American political apparatus,
inasmuch as it is in the unmistakable reclamation by the public of its role as
the driving force which shapes the nation's political posture.
This
having been said, one must not confuse the redefining of the public relevance
to political discourse and processes, with the political machination and
platforms entrusted with translating the people's will, grievances or
aspirations into action. The early signs are not promising however, and suggest
that for any practical change to be achieved and consolidated, public awareness
and engagement must, for their part, be neither marginalised nor relegated.
Most analyses
agree that Iraq was indeed the decisive factor that helped turn the tide
against the Republicans and their president, with their tired mantras and
slogan-based foreign policy. The decisive outcome of the elections was a
resounding message that Americans can no longer operate on the basis of fear
alone, and that the people of the United States are no longer self-absorbed and
incapable of shaping their overall political outlook on the basis of exterior
factors. This time, it was not the economy, but war that wrought an end, even
if temporarily, to President George W Bush's administration's expansionist and
even imperialist view of the world.
For a few
days, one indulged in the sweetness of victory, at the sight of
neo-conservative ideologues collectively disowning their hegemonic project and
their once-hailed hero, now a lame duck president. The January issue of Vanity
Fair magazine is scheduled to highlight the full scale of the neocons' historic
disintegration. David Rose has reported on his findings, quoting the war
architects themselves: former chairman of the Pentagon's Defense Policy Board
Advisory Committee Richard Perle, and former White House speechwriter David
Frum, among others. Frum, who coined the "axis of evil" slogan, told
Rose that the situation in Iraq "must ultimately be blamed on failure at
the centre, starting with President Bush".
Coupled
with an earlier assertion by former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz --
now the head of the World Bank -- at the National Press Club that Iraq "is
not my problem", and former Defense Department official Douglas Feith's
abandoning of politics altogether for a teaching position at Georgetown
University, one can rest assured that the future of the disastrous
"Project for A New American Century" is, at best, uncertain. Not even
the most hopeful amongst us foresaw such an outcome, nor the chain reaction
that it is generating, starting with the dismissal of Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld and the expected relegation of Vice-President Dick Cheney's
position as a key player, in shaping the country's future foreign policy
direction.
The
post-election scene is indeed consistent with the larger picture, where the
architects of war in both the US and Britain, and their faithful allies in
Spain and Italy, are also plummeting. The downfall came in the form of awesome
crashes for some, such as the ones that brought down Spain's Jose Maria Aznar
and Italy's once invincible Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, last April. The
outcome of the US elections was no less remarkable; the latest episode, in
fact, is expected to reverberate for years to come.
The
defeat of the Republican Party however, should not be understood as one that
substantiates the ways of the Democrats. The latter offered no practicable solution
to the Iraq war. Moreover, their party fought and won the elections with a
majority of its nominees challenging the need, even, for a timetable for
withdrawal. It is also worth noting that Democrats are equally responsible for
the Iraq war: after all, a majority of their members in Congress voted for it,
tirelessly justifying it on legal, moral and national security grounds.
The
voters' dissatisfaction with Bush's 'staying the course' approach, perhaps
inadvertently, invited Democrats back to a leadership position by a comfortable
margin at the House of Representatives. This development takes place now, after
years of indecisiveness and, frankly, of lack of purpose and cohesion. Despite
the fact that it was the antiwar fervour that created the opportunity for the
Democrat's political recovery, it could also be the reason sending them back
into a state of lengthy hibernation.
The 7
November vote was a mandate that imagined a less hostile and more sensible and
prudent America. The vote could be said to envisage a country that neither
negotiates its civil liberties, nor 'pre-emptively' engages in brutal wars that
damage its global reputation and compromise its national security. But does the
Democratic leadership share that same vision, or will it simply try to
manipulate its supposedly 'antiwar' image -- illusory as it is -- to advance
its narrow and self-serving political ambitions?
While
British Prime Minister Tony Blair -- hardly known for his political autonomy --
had the audacity to concede to the long-held argument that solving the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the key to a stable Middle East, the Democratic
leadership continues to reassert its unwarranted allegiance to the government
of Israel. This latter's violent, long and cruel occupation of the Palestinian
territories has brought tremendous harm to the Palestinian people, serving as a
rallying cry for anti-Americanism and, indeed, terrorism throughout the Middle
East, and far beyond.
Rep Nancy
Pelosi, groomed to be the speaker of the House when the Democrats claim the
Congressional throne next year, not only disagrees with Blair's recent
revelations to the bipartisan Iraq Study Group, but is so archaic and self-
defeating in her ideas that she sounds more like an iconic Zionist figure, than
a moderate American politician. In her speech to the American-Israel Public
Affairs Committee (AIPAC) last year she asserted that, "There are those
who contend that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all about Israel's
occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. This is absolute nonsense. In truth, the
history of the conflict is not over occupation and never has been: it is over
the fundamental right of Israel to exist."
If this
supposed 'progressive' figure continues to deceive the American people
regarding the iniquitous nature of her country's role in prolonging the
instability of the Middle East, thus committing America to more violence and
counter violence, then, Pelosi and the entire Democratic Party behind her would
find themselves answering to the same discontented public two years from today.
Moreover, if Israel, despite its horrendous crimes in the region, which again
serve as a powerful force behind counter violence and international terrorism,
continues to be treated as a Sacred Cow by American politicians, then Americans
should expect that their country, willingly or not, will 'stay the course', if
not in Iraq, then elsewhere.
It is
mind-boggling that after so many years, and particularly five years of
reprehensible bloodshed that has been mainly inspired by the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict, few American politicians possess the courage to
say it as it is. However, while discounting this conflict as an 'internal
Israeli affair' in past years was acceptable by American political standards,
it will no longer suffice. Such a summary dismissal is now threatening global
stability altogether, and will continue to inch America closer to more
pointless, albeit bloody conflicts.
To
prevent the exodus of Empire-driven neo-conservative ideologues from being
replaced by self-deceiving, Israel-comes-first Democrats, the American public
must not be satisfied with its democratic revolution of early November.
Americans must continue to push for a truly equitable, sensible and
revolutionary foreign policy. It should be one that goes beyond hollow dictum
and reasserts America's leadership globally. If it fails to do so, then
America's Middle East conflict will perpetuate at an exorbitant price. This
will be paid by ordinary Americans, and innocent people everywhere.
-Ramzy Baroud’s latest book: The Second Palestinian
Intifada: A Chronicle of a People’s Struggle (Pluto Press, London) is now
available in the US from the University of Michigan Press and from Amazon.com.
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