For a while I’ve been ranting (‘Noooo, really?’ I hear you say), but today I’ve decided to put a cap over some of my recent postings and just get into what I feel has been the hallmark of western societies over the past few years. I must warn you that this is opinionated in quite possibly the worst possible way, and I have truncated my post in places. However, I feel the need to put finger to keyboard over what I feel can be summed up in three simple words; The Great Failure.
9/11
The 9/11 attacks on the continental United States were a declaration of war by Al Qaeda against what has come to be termed as ‘The West’. By specifically targeting the seats of military and economic power in the US whilst simultaneously using passenger planes, sent a strong message to us all that day and a home truth; the Middle East’s perception of the US is simply not good. The very fact that these attacks were successful pin-pointed a weakness in US domestic policy, that weakness was underpinned by US foreign policy.
Policy issues
You can’t on one hand implement a foreign policy that angers some countries or groups of people, and not prepare a suitable counter domestic policy that accounts for that anger. The Middle East has for years been angered at what is perceived to be institutionalised foreign Exploitation and interference in their state affairs.
The great failure simply started with foreign policies and a failure to back up what was being done on behalf of the US people with a suitable domestic policy that could help cater for the fall-out. Every action has a reaction and policy can be utilised to help mitigate the reaction.
Galvanised.
The attacks resulted in a move of unity not seen since World War II. Every western nation was unified by the magnitude and sheer horror of what happened, and offered assistance to the United States.
The US government prepared a file of evidence that detailed who it believed to be the major parties involved in the 9/11 attacks and we all went in with the simple objective of eradicating that threat. During this period harsh exchanges were made with the US countering the Al Qaeda jihad with what was termed a crusade. Two holy wars met in a head-on collision course.
Good will – spent.
The end result was not so much a victory (as the main perpetrators are still free) as a conquest. With mop up operations in Afghanistan still continuing 5 years after the country had been conquered, and lets not play word games here, Afghanistan was conquered. It is now an occupied state wholly dependent upon western support.
During the war in Afghanistan domestic policy in the west came under the spotlight. The UK implemented policies that reflected the state of war in order to pay for the costs of war. However the US didn’t. The US implemented tax cuts believing that its currencies status as a reserve currency would in effect shield it from any possible economic down-turn. In effect investors in foreign markets (primarily Asia and China) would bank roll a growing US deficit.
This economic policy is slowly eroding a great deal of international good will and presents the west with a stark reality. It is simply unsustainable. It is primarily this reason that is driving the US to force China into making its currency convertible; having said that China understands that this needs to be done, but quite rightly, that it should be done when it can support such a major economic change.
But that was not the only issue at the heart of the matter. After-all a war is on-going and to make matters worse the US decided that it needed to expand the war to Iraq. To help market the idea the US coined the phrase ‘War on Terror’ and used it to label the expansion of war.
Iraq
Colin Powell was given the job of delivering the Iraq intelligence to the UN, and it did not amount to much. Threatening uni-lateral action if the UN did not sanction the expansion of the war effort the US was quickly loosing the political capital it rightly earned after 9/11.
The argument put forward by the US that the UN should act on Iraq because Iraq failed to meet deadlines set by the UN was laughable as other nations have also failed to meet deadlines on UN sanctions. Israel is a prime example of this.
Shortly after this, it became public knowledge that there was a plan that had been in place for a few years often referred to as the Project for a New American Century.
One of the stated goals is “Strengthening ties with US allies and challenging regimes hostile to US interests and values.” Unfortunately far from strengthening ties with the US the Iraq war has placed enormous divisions between some of its key allies and it. Resulting in a tirade of insults traded between the US and its partners. Some of the most notable of these being ‘Freedom Fries’ and Rummy referring to the French as ‘Surrender Monkeys’.
Trading such insults with the country that assisted in delivering freedom from the British has caused tremendous diplomatic harm between Europe and the US. And this is reflected by the total lack of support delivered by the international community to the US led efforts in Iraq.
Once again we have come full circle and are staring at a failure of foreign policy.
Nation Building
Realising that it is committed to re-building a nation that it destroyed the US has sought international help in the incredibly difficult task of stabilising Iraq and imprinting a democratic ideal on its people. However due in part to the expenditure of its political acumen that support has not been forthcoming.
With Lines of enquiry drying up in the search for Osama Bin Laden, the failure to deliver on Al Qaeda while sponsoring torture of detainees in the custody of the US. The great failure is simply thus :-
- A failure in establishing good will via foreign policy, contributed in part to;
- A failure in domestic policy which did not cater for the fall-out resulting from the failings in foreign policy which resulted in;
- An unforeseen expense caused by the war in Afghanistan which escalated to a war in Iraq demonstrating to the Middle East that their suspicions regarding US policy toward them are correct. The wars directly contributing to;
- An unsustainable economic policy and the;
- Sponsorship of the torture of detainees in US custody.
The failure of international diplomacy.
This is probably the greatest failure of all. I’m ashamed that the world has failed to step up an assist the nation building effort in Iraq. This is a costly and complicated exercise, and an international attitude of ‘told you so’ is not going to help.
The international community will be judged harshly for standing back and instead of assisting were possible; quietly watching a deterioration in the stability of Iraq.
Ultimately governments come and go and policy can shift in other directions, but ill-will towards other nations will be the death of us all.
Thank you for reading this opinion piece.
Today I’m Listening To:
Western Eyes by Portishead
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