February 20, 2005

Repression and Trips to Europe

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- We're starting the fifth year of what will now be an eight-year furlough from the world community. President Bush (43) is in Europe trying to rebuild bridges burned by an arrogant with-or-without-you attitude he took two years ago when making a case for war against Iraq.

The primary western European democracies saw right through the United States' executive and refused to stand behind him. Germany, France, Russia, Belgium, and others all dissented over the Iraq war. Who could blame them when some cowboy proclaims his typical American attitude of 'well, we didn't need you anyway' when hearing those nations decline to offer their help in his endeavor?

The resolution that threatened Iraq with the big stick of the United States contained language weak in consequences if Iraq continued to defy demands to disarm following it's defeat in the 1991 Gulf War. It was the window dressing the United States government wanted to hang as the facade to a bull's push into an under-planned war. The carrot was there, but the Bush administration called the twig the U.N. held over Iraq the stick it was looking for from the international community.

But the U.N. was standing on the teeter totter of showing the United States it was doing something, but telling the world it wasn't done with diplomacy as yet. Nothing in the U.N. resolution passed on November 8, 2002, was a real threat even if the Security Council voted unanimously for it that day. The Council stopped short of a real threat intentionally.

The all-but-confirmed new U.S. National Intelligence Director, John Negroponte -- then ambassador to the U.N. -- used the strong language the U.N. didn't to both the U.N. and Iraq.

"If the Security Council fails to act decisively in the event of further Iraqi violations, this resolution does not constrain any member state from acting to defend itself against the threat posed by Iraq or to enforce relevant United Nations resolutions and protect world peace and security," Negroponte was quoted in a CNN story reporting on the resolution.

It is as obvious now as it was then that President Bush was sidestepping the international community on his path to war simultaneously making a case to an American public gun-shy on dissent of its own. Few people, let alone politicians had the guts to step forward and call the war push the pile of garbage that it was.

So now he's in Europe trying to fix what he broke. The meager appearance of fence mending seen now should be an insult to the countries intent on avoiding a conflict that has, at last estimate, taken the lives of anywhere from 10,000 to more than 100,000 civilians.

But President Bush put himself in another pickle last month when he declared his intention to confront every world leader who represses his own people. He'll be meeting with Russian President Putin to talk privately for more than two hours. No doubt Mr. Bush will suggest to Mr. Putin that the Russian people are losing their democratic rights through heavy-handed governing analogous to the former Soviet Union of old.

But Mr. Bush won't be able to get away from allegations of repressed free speech through FCC decency rules implimented since the 2004 Super Bowl, efforts to curb the rights of the public to obtain abortions or tort reform that tightens the ability to bring class action lawsuits against companies that need to answer to actions. They don't seem like repression on the surface. But for the country that was built on the right to practice religion freely, or be free from it, an evangelical Christian president is sure pushing his beliefs on the country as a whole a little much.

I hope President Bush's little trip to Europe works. I hope his intentions work more than his demeanor on behalf of the country. I hope, but I don't expect much progress from my president anymore. I don't expect much progress at all.

- Rich