By Mark Ashwill
Buffalo, NY – In his pre-war letter of resignation in late February, John Brady Kiesling, political counselor at the U.S. Embassy in Greece, wrote that "September 11 did not do as much damage to the fabric of American society as we seem determined to do to ourselves. Is the Russia of the late Romanovs really our model, a selfish, superstitious empire thrashing toward self-destruction in the name of a doomed status quo?"
This is not a trite historical analogy that Kiesling pulled out of thin air. If you want to understand the true motivations behind the war in Iraq and the subsequent saber-rattling and nation-building, forget about the noise and nonsense in most of the mainstream media. You first need to know something about The Project for the New American Century. This well-heeled and influential, yet little known non-profit organization, founded in 1997, is dedicated to the proposition that "American leadership is good both for America and for the world."
No deals made in smoke-filled corridors of power, no secrets, no conspiracies. It's all there in black and white for the world to see on a slick Web site, newamericancentury.org, that reads like a blueprint for current U.S. foreign and defense policies. Many of the original supporters, including household names like Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz, are now insiders who have the awesome power of the U.S. military and intelligence agencies at their disposal, and can make bad things happen quickly with phone calls, memos and e-mails.
According to the New American Century view of the world, the lessons of the 20th century are that "it is important to shape circumstances before crises emerge, and to meet threats before they become dire." Of course, all of this is a not-so-thinly-veiled grand scheme for unilateral U.S. action and empire-building. It takes the supremely arrogant position that our needs, our interests, and our goals supercede all others.
The proponents of the New American Century policy are smugly self-righteous, zealous and, in some cases, Rasputin-like characters whose adherence to the notion of preemptive war and regional nation-building elevates arrogance and stupidity to unprecedented heights.
I am ashamed not of the U.S. government, nor of my country, only of the current Administration. I do not equate patriotism and love of country with the flag-waving, lemming-like mentality of so many of my fellow citizens, nor do I believe that "American interests" are naturally synonymous and compatible with the interests of the rest of the world.
I "support the troops," for they are but pawns on this Administration's twisted geopolitical chessboard sent to Iraq not to preserve my freedom or protect my security but to do the bidding of a civilian leadership that claims to hold a monopoly on morality, truth and God's favor.
It is, after all, American ideals and values that are being betrayed and American credibility and prestige that are being trampled upon. It is, as Kiesling points out, the dismantling of "the largest and most effective web of international relationships the world has ever known."
A recent visit to the hallowed site of the World Trade Center reminded me that it is even the memory of the victims of 9/11 that is being dishonored, especially since that national tragedy was shamelessly appropriated as a pretext for this war. An eye for an eye, with the justification built on a foundation of shifting sand.
There is no noble cause here, no greater good, only the prospect that our government's abuse of power we will be avenged exponentially in mistrust, hatred and violence.
Mark Ashwill is Fulbright adviser at UB. The Fulbright program, created by Congress after World War II to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchange, is the U.S. government's premier scholarship program. The views expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views of the Fulbright program.