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article on BBC Wesbite, linked from front page about New American Century : http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/2801349.stm Wednesday, 26 February, 2003, 15:35 GMT Analysis: Power Americana By Paul Reynolds BBC News Online world affairs correspondent Might is right, according to Defence Department hawks The US is heading to war with Iraq whatever happens, in another indication of the Bush administration's development of a hard-line foreign policy. Tony Blair might be trying to convince the British Parliament and people that Saddam Hussein can even now, as he put it in his statement on Tuesday, "save [his regime] by complying with the UN's demand". This claim is an insistent one from the British Government. It is designed to appeal to the doubters. It has become less and less convincing. For George W Bush is singing the dominant tune. Saddam Hussein is "playing games", President Bush said, also on Tuesday, about some concessions from Baghdad, and "I suspect he will try to fool the world one more time." European accusations... are countered by American descriptions of Europeans as 'EU-nuchs' in general and of the French in particular as 'cheese-eating surrender monkeys' The conclusion to be drawn is that whatever Saddam Hussein does now will probably not be enough for Washington. US officials are admitting that they only agreed to go back to the Security Council for another resolution in order to accommodate Mr Blair. The new resolution therefore has no real meaning beyond covering, or indeed exposing, the British back. The Americans will go to war anyway. This points the way to the future. For better, for worse, it is one of Power Americana. Single superpower To understand why this should be so, it is worth going back to a project called the New American Century set up in 1997. Founded by two commentators - William Kristol and Robert Kagan - it laid the philosophical groundwork for what was to come. A number its sympathisers later joined the Bush administration, including two of the leading hawks, Paul Wolfowitz and John Bolton. The thinking behind the New American Century helps to explain why the current gulf exists between the United States and some of its allies. European accusations that George W Bush is a "cowboy" or worse are countered by American descriptions of Europeans as "EU-nuchs" in general and of the French in particular as "cheese-eating surrender monkeys". In September 2000, as Mr Bush was running for the presidency, the New American Century team produced a report called "Rebuilding America's Defences". The goal was to "promote American global leadership", the report stated. "As the 20th Century draws to a close, the United States stands as the world's pre-eminent power," it said. "Having led the West to victory in the Cold War, America faces an opportunity and a challenge. "Does the United States have the vision to build upon the achievement of past decades? "Does the United States have the resolve to shape a new century favourable to American principles and interests? "[What we require] is a military that is strong... a foreign policy that boldly and purposefully promotes American interests... and a national leadership that accepts the United States' global responsibility." At first, it did not look as if Mr Bush was that enthusiastic. He said in a presidential campaign debate in October 2000 that American foreign policy had to be "humble". "We must be proud and confident of our values but humble in how we treat nations that are figuring out how to chart their own course," was how he put it. America goes it alone President Bush has his European supporters like Tony Blair who spotted that the president was open to persuasion on some issues, and was in due course persuaded to go to the United Nations over Iraq. However, as president, it was not long before Mr Bush showed that he could also chart America's own course. With the German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder sitting next to him in the Oval Office in early 2001, he dismissed the Kyoto environmental treaty by saying that American jobs were not to be put at risk. Maybe Mr Schroeder remembered that humiliation in the charting of his own Iraq policy later? Then came 11 September. After a shaky start, Mr Bush rose to the challenge when he stood amid the rubble and promised retribution. He went on to develop his own Bush Doctrine, one of pre-emptive intervention. He has since been encouraged on this course by another contribution from the folks who heralded The New American Century. In a book called "The War over Iraq: Saddam's Tyranny and America's Mission", William Kristol, joined this time by Lawrence F Kaplan, stated: "The complacent assumptions of the post-Cold War era were destroyed on September 11. "That day brought us to a new era for which we need a new road map. "If America does not shape this new epoch, we can be sure that others will shape it for us - in ways that neither further our interests nor reflect our ideas. "For the United States this is a decisive moment." 'Democratisation' The former CIA Director James Woolsey praised the book. "The authors show us why - in this age of terror, rogue states and weapons of mass destruction - we can only make the world safe for democracy by finishing the job of democratising it," he said. The new US doctrine is causing resentment in Muslim states "Democratising" the world is an important part of neo-conservative thinking, especially when it comes to the Arab and Islamic world. It does not mean full-scale democracy along Western lines, apparently, but it does mean "reshaping" it to encourage civil institutions and a freer press and so on. Douglas Feith, the US Under-Secretary of Defence in charge of policy and another of the neo-conservatives in the administration, told the New Yorker magazine recently that "democratising" Arab and Islamic countries would help to diminish terrorism. "If [an Iraqi] government could create some of those institutions of democracy, that might be inspirational throughout the Middle East," he said. There is a sub-plot here. One of the products of the New American Century approach is a close alignment with Israel and the inclusion of Palestinian groups like Hamas and Islamic Jihad as part of the "war on terror" declared by President Bush. Those right-wing supporters of George W Bush who are Jews have consequently found themselves the subject of political and personal attack. David Brooks, a commentator on the Weekly Standard, the publication of the new right, wrote: "Not long ago I was chatting with a prominent Washington figure in a green room. 'You people have infested everywhere,' he said." Europe divided The response of many Europeans - and some Americans as well, it must be said - has been to regard the New American Century approach with some alarm. For a start, Europeans are far more sympathetic to the Palestinians. But it goes beyond that. Former French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine invented the word "hyperpower" to describe the United States and not in an admiring way. In a speech to the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations, Chris Patten, former UK Government minister, Hong Kong governor and now European foreign affairs commissioner, said that "in order to be a more credible partner and in some cases to be a counterweight, Europe has to invest in its own security". Europe, however, is divided and its efforts to forge a "Common Foreign and Security Policy" have for the moment, and for the foreseeable future, foundered on the rock of national interest. The New American Century has begun. sign the pledge of resistance to the "war on terrorism" www.j-n-v.org _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk