How
will you remember the out going 43rd president of the United States of America,
George Walker Bush? The
days after 9/11 were a spine-chilling reminder that America faces murderous
enemies spanning the globe, and to his credit, it was President Bush who
reassured and led his nation in a time of unimaginably harrowing grief. His
leadership immediately following the September 11th attacks, especially with
regard to building a worldwide coalition in the early fight against the Taliban
and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, seemed to promise great things… but then promises
are mere promises!
Those
great things, however, never materialized. The Iraq war, the Hurricane Katrina
debacle, near showdown with Iran, standoff with North Korea, handling of
emergent Russia and a history of disregard for civil liberties and
international law has virtually destroyed President Bush’s legacy in the short
term, at least for the remainder of his lifetime. Not to forget, his lame duck
role as the American Economy went into recession and thousands lost jobs and
homes.
I still
remember, it was hot and sultry in the newsroom and everyone’s eyes were glued
to a TV set - New York’s iconic twin towers were conspicuous by their absence,
amidst dirt and rubble, at ‘Ground Zero’ stood President George W. Bush
addressing a shell-shocked nation. “America today is on a bended knee, in
prayer for the people whose lives were lost here, for the workers who work
here, for the families who mourn. This nation stands with the good people of
New York City and New Jersey and Connecticut as we mourn the loss of thousands
of our citizens.” A rescue worker, who couldn’t hear the President uttered: “I
can't hear you!” What followed was unscripted rhetoric. President Bush remarked
extemporaneously, "I can hear you! I can hear you! The rest of the world
hears you! And the people -- and the people who knocked these buildings down
will hear all of us soon!" [Transcript Source: White House
(www.whitehouse.gov)] I immediately developed a sense of awe and respect for
the patriarch whose paternalistic devotion to protect his people in the wake of
9/11 reigned supreme. But what followed was an unmitigated disaster for
America.
If my
memory serves me right, I think President Bush has the unique distinction of
being the first president of the United States to include diverse
underrepresented groups within the federal government, especially within his
cabinet. He needs to be acknowledged for crossing partisan lines and continuing
the Clintonian tradition. History will remember President Bush in part for
appointing Condoleezza Rice (the first African American National Security
Advisory), Colin Powell (the first African-American Secretary of State), Elaine
Chao (the first Asian-American Secretary of Labour), and Alberto Gonzales (the
first Chicano Attorney General). Dr. Condoleezza Rice subsequently went on to
become the Secretary of State (second African American, and the second woman -
after Madeleine Albright) …
President
Bush, despite having highly qualified and intellectual office-bearers at the
Oval Office, has suffered a misplaced ideological handicap. He never came out
of the influence of the Cold War Era (perhaps courtesy his father and Ronald
Reagan, his hero) nor did he choose to acquaint himself with the larger reality
that the American Way of Life is not the only way of life. He was lost in the
world where free and unregulated Market Forces formed the only life support
system and Capitalism was the will of God. Economic & Market Regulatory
framework amounted to governmental control, therefore akin to Socialism – thus
a taboo! Therefore, when the American Economy showed the first major signs of
crisis, about two years ago with the housing/realty sector, some intervention
was warranted. No not for President Bush! Run away corruption and greed has
been raising its ugly head at Wall Street for now roughly three years.
Corporate scandals (like Enron) abounded as did the greed of Oil companies to
reap profits with the ethics of a grave robber. All this did not bode well for
the corporate sector, the economy, and the American goodwill world wide.
What
will be George W. Bush’s legacy? The answer seems sadly simple… the
president who, on his farewell visit to Iraq, had to duck and negotiate flying
shoes. The “President of War”! The President who misinformed and, in all
probability, even lied to the world, as his administration conspired against
Saddam Hussein. Bush mesmerized the American people with his highly imaginative
and inaccurate tales of Osama Bin Laden and Saddam Hussein being flip sides of
the same coin.
The
43rd President of the United States of America will also be remembered as the
one who finally managed to alienate America’s closest European allies. Germany
and France found themselves openly voicing their disenchantment with the “Bush
Doctrine”. Ironically, after eight years of Bush rule - inclusive of five years
of the “Bush Doctrine,” America landed up undermining the very foundation of
the United Nations that it had helped create by unilaterally embarking on the
Invasion of Iraq. Interestingly, the American Don Quixote while championing the
cause of democracy pursued a typical authoritarian road map to Baghdad. In the
process, the knight in tin armour sowed seeds of discontent and resentment even
in quarters that were sympathetic to the American View of the World. It is
under President Bush’s stewardship, the Pew Global Attitudes Project findings
indicate, that the global opinion of the United States of America has taken a
serious tumble.
In
today’s world of economic inter-dependency, given the size and nature of the
America-centric international trade and commerce, it is unlikely that many
countries may go the whole hog in assuming rigid anti-American stances. But I
fear that America may have isolated itself in most international organisations,
including the United Nations.
Denial
of the Global Warming Phenomena, Somersaults on the Kyoto Agreement, keeping
quiet on the China-Tibet issue, overlooking tin-pot dictators in Africa (and at
times supporting them), skewed policies in dealing with Al Qaeda and the
Taliban, wanton violation of the Geneva Convention at prisons like Abu Ghraib
and detention centres like in Guantanamo Bay have done irreparable damage to
America. And, all of that has happened under the watch of George W. Bush.
It was
not long ago when President Bush stood on a naval aircraft carrier with a
banner screaming “mission accomplished!” The invasion of Iraq was over, the war
on terror won and democracy established in Iraq! Three years down the line body
bags continue to arrive in America, with no end in sight. America today rides a
tiger which it fears disembarking! The truth is that the moment American forces
retreat from this quagmire; all rival factions will usher Iraq into a
bloodbath. It seems, Iraq was definitely better off under Saddam!
On the
other hand, spasmodic efforts to engage Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan
have failed to secure safety for America. Mr. Bush committed himself and his
people to the Afghan War (and I am reminded of “Auckland's Folly” of 1838)
without having deliberated on a viable alternative to Taliban for Afghanistan –
like economic and social development. The President had rushed in where angels
have feared to tread! Today, America faces graver security threats at the hands
of terrorist than ever before.
President
Bush went on to become highly unpopular within his own country, as well. The
Patriot Act provided the federal government with the legal jurisdiction and
political capital to access the personal information of its citizens. President
Bush reversed some of the most basic of guaranteed civil liberties including
Article IV of the Bill of Rights. The security agencies indulged in stereotypes
and social profiling is carried out against a certain set of people
irrespective of their nationality to the extent that it has become an
abomination.
Many
critics believe that Bush was a disaster; they have gone to the limit of
attributing even the present global economic crash to his policies. According
to them, President Bush will go down in history books for the following
reasons:
- Abu
Ghraib
- Alberto Gonzalez
- Blackwater
- Cheney shooting someone in the face
- Enron
- Faith Based Initiatives
- Falsified intelligence
- Firing of U.S. Attorneys
- Inflation
- Loss of Habeas Corpus
- Rising unemployment
- Scooter Libby
- September 11, 2001
- Sinking economy
- Sinking public opinion
- Soaring gas prices
- Suppression
of climate science
- The Afghan War
- The Iraqi Quagmire
- The Katrina debacle
- The Patriot Act
- Torture
- Tyco
- Veto of stem cell bill
- Water Boarding
- Wire Tapping
To sum
up I would like to quote Monti Narayan Datta’s dissertation work focusing on
the consequences of anti-Americanism for the US national interest.
“The legacy of George W. Bush will be bleak. Here stands a man with
essentially a good heart, and the right intentions—to help spread freedom and
democracy around the globe. He has enjoyed the company of a brilliant cabinet
in the Oval Office that has shared his ideological misadventures. Yet, the man
has done more harm to the US national interest in the past five years than all
other US presidents have over the past fifty-years combined... President Bush’s
policies have garnered hatred around the world, particularly in the Middle
East. Meanwhile, the Bush Administration has sharply curtailed some of
Americans’ basic civil liberties... tarring America’s image as a country of
freedom and equality... America is far less safe today because of one, and only
one man—George W. Bush.”
It may be difficult to absolve President Bush of his doings, but I am also convinced that President
Bush served merely as a catalyst to polarise all Anti-American sentiment which
had been simmering across the globe for a long-long time. Europe has been
talking of the neo-imperialism of America long before even George Bush Senior
had descended on the White House. Latin America always found itself at wrong
end of the White House’s policies. Many dictators and unpopular governments,
all across the globe, have survived by merely granting concessions to
Multi-National Companies (to be read as the American Interest). Ever since the
Balfour Declaration in 1918, the Arab World has felt cheated! The American
policy in dealing with Israel has done little to restore trust or even assuage
the frayed tempers in the Middle East. The West’s and the US’s long-standing
obsession with Islam as a threat perception has added fuel to fire.
We know
that George Walker Bush did not conjure up the “Clash of Civilisations” theory,
he simply was not wedded to the idea of a “Dialogue among Civilizations”
keeping in line with polices of many of his predecessors. Most of the Third
World and the Developing Nations have been wary or “pissed off” with the
American View of the World. President Bush did not create Osama bin Laden,
Osama and his likes are outcome of a consistent viewpoint held by the American
polity! Ironically, Bush tried to don the mantle of the Messiah of Peace
between Israel and Palestine but failed miserably! When giants cast a shadow
hope for shade!
America
is definitely not a villain of the first order nor is all encompassing conclave
of so-called anti-American sentiment innocent lambs. All that the 43rd
President of the United States of America did was, rather tactlessly; bring the
malady plaguing the world to the fore! He was, in part, reaping the fruits from
the seeds that some of his predecessors had sown. Yet, he will be seen as a
President who missed opportunities at every turn to make the country and the
world a better, safer place. He will be remembered as the leader who diminished
respect for America around the globe. And more than any President in American
history, he divided people along religious and ideological lines to further his
own agenda. Given the reason for the ongoing fight in Iraq, this last part is
the saddest irony of all. He was simply a wrong man at a wrong place at a wrong
time!
