Essays
The American Albatross - A Strategy for Renewed Flight
By Les Young
Dec 16, 2006, 00:00

The American Albatross

A Strategy for Renewed Flight

In Search of Security, Peace & Prosperity

Twin Powers – USA and USSR

During WW II the imperial powers – UK, France, Germany, and Japan – were largely demolished. Meanwhile, the USA and the USSR emerged from the war greatly strengthened. Can there be any wonder how America and Russia became leaders of the post-war world?

New World Order

Following the demise of the USSR, the USA became the sole superpower on earth. (We were sailing in new, uncharted waters.) President Bush (41) mentioned a New World Order, but no one seemed to understand what he meant.

9/11 Changed Everything

After 9/11 the meaning of New World Order emerged. The USA would order and defend the world according to our perceived interests and those of our friends. 

America saw the world through a new prism and seemed to ask: Why should we, the world’s only standing superpower, endure such humiliation at the hands of a band of terrorists? 

We would teach them – and any who might follow their example – not to threaten America’s security and our interests, or that of our friends. President Bush (43) informed the world: Either you are with us, or against us. (Unchecked power. Think of Gulliver without ropes.)

West Point Address & Bush Doctrine

At the 2002 West Point graduation, President Bush (43) outlined the principal points of an emerging new National Security Strategy – known as the Bush Doctrine – which was published in September 2002, in time to legitimize Congress’s vote to sanction Bush’s first-strike invasion of Iraq. 

The Bush Doctrine asserts an American prerogative to attack unilaterally, with first-strike military force (with impunity) any nation or sub-national group that the USA fears may someday wish to harm or intimidate us, our interests, or our friends. Moreover, the Bush Doctrine asserts that America possesses military superiority in all regions of the world, and that we will never permit any nation, or group of nations, to pursue military build-up to challenge that superiority.

The One Percent Doctrine

Ron Suskind reports that a One Percent Doctrine exists today which states: Where there is a one percent chance of catastrophe, it is to be treated as a certainty.

This is the Cheney Doctrine. It’s not about analysis; it’s about our response. Firm evidence is too high a threshold. (Alas, tilting at windmills? No.  At scarecrows? Si!)           

Think About It

Can anyone imagine America extending this first-strike prerogative to any other nation on earth?

Can anyone imagine non-Americans, freely and gladly, extending a first-strike prerogative to the USA, or, for that matter, to any other nation?

Results of Current Policies

·        War persists in Iraq and Afghanistan – with no resolution in sight.

·        Civil war threatens in Lebanon and Palestine.

·        Israel isolates and corrals Palestinians within their own land behind an iron cage.

·        North Korea and Iran pursue respect and security through nuclear programs.

Reviving the Albatross

How can America, the post-modern Mariner, resurrect our Albatross and loft it on wings to soar again?

By Returning to Basics

·        We must acknowledge our errors, not merely ascribe blame to others and to flawed implementation.

·        We must renounce our failed Bush Doctrine – the sections that assert unto the USA first-strike prerogatives and permanent global hegemony. (No nation is wise enough or trustworthy enough to rule the world alone.)

·        We must abandon regime change as a strategy. (It’s their business after all, not ours. Nearly always, USA sponsored regime change results in calamity both for us and for the other nation as well.)

·        We must abide by international standards of justice.

·        We must insist upon reliable, reputable evidence and genuine analysis – not act upon guesswork, faith, and fear.

·        We must accept the fact that others desire a prosperous USA that can purchase their products and services. (As long as America is prosperous, we can pay for petroleum and other resources that we require.)

·        We must cease squandering our trustworthiness, our integrity, and our children’s prosperity on warmongering and intimidation.

XXX