Jewish World Review Jan. 21, 2005 / 11 Shevat, 5765
Robert Robb
Broadness of new Bush Doctrine diffuses focus from the true terrorist threat
http://www.jewishworldreview.com |
In his inaugural address, President Bush provided the most aggressive
formulation to date of the Bush doctrine: That the security of the United
States depends on the spread of liberty and democracy throughout the world.
The starkness of his formulation highlighted the flaws in the doctrine and
its imprudence as a guide to U.S. conduct in the world.
The September 11 terrorist attack "a day of fire," as Bush evocatively
described it was a searing event, exposing an orienting threat.
And it is certainly true that American security and interests are enhanced
by the spread of freedom, democratic governance and free markets.
But it is simply untrue that the lack of freedom, per se, is a security
threat against which the United States must mobilize.
According to Freedom House, three-fifths of the world's people who live
without liberty are in China. Yet there is not a comprehensive terrorist
threat emanating from China.
Moreover, U.S. policy toward China isn't to pressure it to expand political
liberty. In her opening statement at her confirmation hearing as secretary
of state, Condoleezza Rice said: "We are building a candid, cooperative and
constructive relationship with China that embraces our common interests but
still recognizes our considerable differences about values."
If a lack of liberty is per se a threat, that's a rather indifferent
approach.
The problem with the broadness of the Bush doctrine is that it diffuses
focus from the true terrorist threat, which is overwhelmingly from militant
Islam.
The implication of the Bush doctrine is that the United States, to protect
our security, must be an active agent of democratic change elsewhere in the
world.
According to Bush, we will "stand with" those who "stand for" their
liberty.
But what does this mean? The United States brought tragedy rather than
triumph by allowing Eastern Europeans to miscalculate what the United
States would do to support rebellion in the early years of the Cold War, as
we did with the Shia after the first Iraq war.
Bush said that our relationship with other countries would be tied to their
progress in providing political and civil rights.
But that's clearly not the case with China. Nor with Russia, despite the
democratic retreat taking place there.
It's not even true in the front-line fight against militant Islamic
terrorism, as the United States has countenanced Pakistani President Pervez
Musharraf reneging on commitments to democratic reform.
Bush dismisses critics of his doctrine as not having sufficient faith in,
as he put it in his speech, "the global appeal of liberty."
I, however, believe in the right of all people to live in liberty and in
the transforming power of self-government. I'm even cautiously optimistic
that Iraq is on a path to some form of democratic governance.
Nevertheless, the Bush doctrine is an imprudent guide to American conduct
in the world.
The United States has always been an exemplar and advocate of freedom and
democracy. The spread of democracy in the breeding grounds of militant
Islam would undoubtedly reduce the terrorist threat to the United States.
But the extent to which the United States can be useful as an active agent
of democratic change in that region is very much in doubt. And trying to
play such a role makes us even more of a terrorist target.
According to Bush, "it is the policy of the United States to seek and
support the growth of democratic movements and institutions in every nation
and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world."
The end of tyranny is much to be desired. But, according to Freedom House,
less than half of the world's people are now truly free. So, that's a
pretty big mission.
The Bush doctrine is at odds with the more circumspect role the United
States needs to play in the world, and inevitably will play.
After Iraq, the United States is probably out of the invasion business for
a while. And other countries are simply less willing to defer to American
leadership.
In his farewell address, George Washington said: "Taking care always to
keep ourselves by suitable establishments on a respectable defensive
posture, we may safely trust to temporary alliances for extraordinary
emergencies."
The United States needs a wide range of ad hoc alliances to protect
ourselves against terrorist attack. Those with democracies would be more
reliable.
But securing the country shouldn't depend on remaking the world.
JWR contributor Robert Robb is a columnist for The Arizona Republic. Comment by clicking here.
01/05/05: Why is this any of the government's business?
12/15/04: Finally a maverick Nobel Prize winner for economics?
12/10/04: The challenge four more years of the Bush administration presents to conservatism's fundamental beliefs
12/02/04: Sportsmanship? What's that?
11/22/04: Tax reform limited by, uh ... tax reform
11/14/04: Empowerment agenda reality check
10/13/04: And what tax rate should Americans making over $200,000 a year pay? Some pre-debate advice for the President
09/24/04: Too many of the wrong people have too much ability to influence public opinion too quickly?
09/20/04: Kerry asks good question about security costs
09/07/04: Right city, right message
08/30/04: Bush's key task: His reinvention as a true uniter
08/20/04: Bush's burdening the Middle Class
08/13/04: For prez to win, he must change his campaigning style
08/03/04: Missing in Beantown was a sense of the art of the possible
07/26/04: Kerry inflated agenda reveals he's failed to truly make the transition from legislator to presidential candidate
07/12/04: Edwards punctuates Kerry fantasies
07/06/04: Kerry ups the ante in bid for Latino vote
06/30/04: High Court gave administration limits
06/25/04: Parallel (political) universes
06/21/04: Al-Qaida-Iraq interaction strengthens case for war
06/02/04: Gas whiners don't believe in or trust markets
05/10/04: Border reforms fail on black-market issue
05/07/04: It wasn't Bush's recession nor Bush's recovery
04/28/04: Arizona to become test market on immigration as a political issue
04/23/04: Accusations that the Bush administration has been shredding civil liberties are hyperbolic
04/16/04: Learning the limits
04/14/04: Aug. 6 memo is not even a water pistol, much less a smoking gun
04/11/04: Once 9/11 Commission's political theater ends, we must debate real security issues
04/09/04: Fact checking Kerry's federal budget plans
04/08/04: Should the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq be delayed beyond the current deadline?
04/02/04: Kerry's tax epiphany makes some cents
03/31/04: What could have prevented 9/11
03/26/04: Knock off the high-stakes blame game
03/23/04: McCain a straight talker? Who is he kidding?
03/17/04: Bin Laden makes distinctions?
03/12/04: In the dangerous neighborhoods, cause for hope, if not yet optimism
03/01/04: Greenspan view scary, but Dems in denial
02/27/04: How not to achieve a mandate
© 2004, The Arizona Republic
|