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Subject: Now that the war is "over" ...
Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2003 20:14:22 -0400
Organization: Rights Action
Importance: Normal
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Published on Thursday, April 17, 2003 by the Toronto
Star
U.S. Military Muscle 'Redefining War'
by Linda Diebel in Washington
Standing by some of the mightiest toys in his military
arsenal, a pumped-up U.S. President George W. Bush
yesterday boasted that the United States is "redefining
war" to toppling tyrants at will. And yet, in his
first major speech of the Iraq war, one in which he
detailed huge successes and mocked the fallen regime of
Saddam Hussein, Bush declined to declare an end to
Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Instead, he painted the world as a scary place for
Americans, urged even greater military spending to face
its perils and stoked the fears of Democrats who
believe his Republican administration has embarked upon
a re election strategy of never-ending war and
nail-biting anxiety. "Since Sept. 11 (2001), we've been
engaged in a global war against terror ... That war
continues, and we are winning," said Bush yesterday, to
the tumultuous cheers of aircraft workers at a Boeing
Co. plant in St. Louis, Mo. Meanwhile, the White House
lowered the U.S. domestic security alert from "high"
orange to "elevated" yellow.
Bush cast himself in the role of leader ready for the
"big task for this nation" of overcoming threats to the
homeland and preparing the United States "to meet the
dangers of our time." He also urged the U.N. to lift
economic sanctions against Iraq, now that Saddam's
regime has "passed into history."
But the focus of his speech was his country's military
muscle and what the United States intends to do with
it. "Our military is strong and our military is ready,
and we intend to keep it that way," he said, promising
to do so.
The American president's performance was better
publicity than Boeing could ever buy. Excited,
jubilant, he talked about the aerospace plant's F/A 18
Super Hornet jets -- at $57 million (U.S.) a pop, the
most advanced strike fighters in the U.S. Navy's
arsenal -- and said Boeing workers and their jets are a
"main reason why we were successful in making the world
a more peaceful place." "From Kabul to Baghdad,
American forces and our fine allies have conducted some
of the most successful military campaigns in history,"
Bush said. "By a combination of creative strategies
and advanced technologies, we are redefining war on our
own terms."
Yesterday's speech put a military face -- planning and
weaponry -- on the 2002 National Security Strategy of
the United States. In it, Bush listed the touchstones
of his foreign policy as pre-emptive strikes against
perceived threats, regime change and the global
imperative of American military and moral superiority.
Yesterday, he underscored that imperative, defining it
as toppling tyrants everywhere.
"Across the world, terrorists and tyrants are learning
that America ... will act in our own defence," he said.
"Instead of drifting towards tragedy, we will protect
our security and we will promote peace in the world."
He added: "In this new era of precision warfare, we can
target a regime. Our aim is to strike the guilty."
Bush said that the advanced weaponry of the war, which
the United States says spares civilian lives, serves a
higher purpose. "Terrorists and tyrants have now been
put on notice: They can no longer feel safe behind
innocent lives," he said.
At times his speech soared to evangelical heights.
"One of my calls to our fellow Americans is to love
your neighbour just like you'd like to be loved
yourself," he said. "When you see somebody who hurts,
put your arm around them and tell them you love them."
Since last week's fall of the Saddam regime, Democrats,
eager to focus on the economy in the leadup to the 2004
elections, have waited in vain for Bush to declare
victory. Analysts suggested that Bush could be
defeated like his father, former president George H.W.
Bush, who basked in the aftermath of the first Persian
Gulf War in 1991, only to be defeated amid a faltering
economy the next year. "The big difference is that the
first Gulf War ended," a senior Democratic senator told
the New York Times yesterday. "This administration
will never end the war. And because they never end the
war, they will have an ongoing advantage: An open-ended
war on terrorism that will never end and that keeps
people constantly on edge. A never-ending military
commitment in Iraq that might lead to other commitments
beyond Iraq also keeps people focused on national
security."
It's an Orwellian scenario, straight out of 1984. And,
according to Democrats, it puts the onus on their
candidates to slug it out over who can keep Americans
safer, with Bush having a powerful edge. Already, in
the last few days, the White House has refocused its
enmity from Iraq to Syria, warning that Syria is hiding
weapons of mass destruction and sheltering Iraqi war
criminals. The threat of an invasion of Syria by
American troops in neighbouring Iraq is clear.
"For the sake of the security of this country, and for
the sake of peace in this world, the United States must
maintain every advantage in weaponry and technology and
intelligence," Bush said yesterday. "Our edge in
warfare comes ... because of the American spirit of
enterprise. "The character of our military reflects the
character of our country," he added, before touring
Boeing's facilities. "America uses its might in the
service of principle."
And, repeatedly, Bush said the military conflict isn't
over. "Our work is not done; the difficulties have not
passed," he stressed, before heading to his ranch in
Crawford, Texas, for an extended Easter holiday.
Crawford, he told the crowd, "is part of the real
world."
