Op-Ed News, USA Editorial, Tokyo Hello, North American
Media, Chinese American News, South American
Business Daily, Saudi Post, Hiroshima Post,
Scoop, Liberia Sport, World Economist, Turkmen
Post, Tunesia Cup, World News Network
After the total defeat of the Democratic ticket by a ruthless demagogic President,
and the ascension of extremist elements in the Congress, Executive, and Supreme
Court; one must question how long America will retain its tattered moral authority in the world… or even if
it will become a threat to other
civilized democracies.
This isn’t a remote possibility
or wild speculation- it is only as far away as the next major terrorist attack
on America- especially if a city is nuked, perhaps more than 50% probable in
the next 5 years. The CIA's Michael Scheuer, author
of Imperial Hubris, considers this "almost inevitable",
since Bin Laden received permission for such an attack in a fatwa from a Saudi
sheik. The break point for America losing its mind and reacting wildly is 50,000 dead Americans, and
a little Hiroshima bomb in NYC would probably kill a minimum of 200,000. The plutonium in a Nagasaki bomb is a 20 lb. baseball sized piece; while the Russians have 660 tons of extra weapons grade PL and U, half of it without any increased security.
Our country is now a massive military and economic machine,
being run by a small coterie of pinhead neo-con, trickle-down, and theocratic
true believers. Science, logic, and precedent matter little to these people-
they know what is right. The entire
top layer of real government, economic, and military experts are exiled to the
wilderness, like every reconstruction and occupation expert in Iraq. The multi-billion dollar (non)
reconstruction was carried out by unknown
twenty-somethings who had posted their resumes on the conservative
Heritage Foundation website.
Bush’s success in his simplistic
propaganda campaign against Kerry- a deserter
smearing a decorated War hero as a cowardly, indecisive, weakling; was
indicative of how empty and vapid the US electorate has become. Americans’ great strength throughout
history have been to clearly see a problem, identify
it, and fix it. Even if poorly educated, they had an ability to recognize and
reject lies and liars. The faith-based community is devoid of that native
wisdom, as are many of the easily persuaded fretful voters. As long as Bush
keeps sprinkling God or Christ in every second speech and harps on hot button
issues, they are convinced of his decency and morality, no matter the
immorality of his brutish policies on war, taxes, health care, poverty, or
security. The defeat of the kindly and gentlemanly Senate Dem Leader Tom
Daschle by a smooth vacant “Christian” athlete John Thune, who mounted scathing
attacks, typified the danger to the Republic.
George Bush ran a campaign based on fear: fear of terrorism, fear
of change, fear of the other. “Trust me,” he said over and over, and Kerry was
too obtuse or soft to point out that one can’t trust the most prolific liar in
modern American history. Governing after losing by a half-million votes, Bush
has run the most extreme, divisive, and unresponsiveadministration in memory. With a 3 ˝
million vote mandate (if these weren’t largely the result of Republican-built
paperless electronic voting machines), a 55-45 majority in the Senate, a coming
6-3 majority in the Supreme Court, Bush can be expected to shatter the economy
with more lunatic tax cuts, expand neo-theocratic repression of media and
personal rights, and march into any country he deems a threat. He claimed Iraq was a threat, although it hadn’t killed a single American in 10
years. Worse, another 4 years will allow the extremists to consolidate control
of America- gerrymandering districts, changing Congressional rules,
marginalizing Democrats- for perhaps the next 20-30 years.
A terrorist nuclear attack on the US would be the coup de grace of American liberal democracy. Bush
and his Repub cohorts would (with the public’s
blessing) round up 7 million Muslims in camps or deport them, institute martial
law, pass Patriot 2 + 3, change the Constitution, and shred the Bill of Rights.
In a flash, we would become a military dictatorship, with GB2 as our very own
Mussolini. This is a man whose arrogance and lust for power knows no bounds, a
man who doesn’t read and brags about it. Even a President Kerry probably couldn't resist
pressure for rash action. Currently, Iraq is sucking all of our military resources, but moves against old
enemies in Iran, or oil and mineral rich countries in Asia, Africa, and South America in the next decade
are not implausible. It is even conceivable in 10-20 years, of conflicts with a
militarily resurgent Europe over precious resources.
Many things have been chilling to an embedded observer watching
this progression: the huge US Senate vote for what they knew was an unjustified
Iraq war (73-26), the lack of protests by our dragooned Army and Nat. Guard,
the blatant intimidation of anyone objecting to the war, the devil’s bargain by
Kerry to “support” the Iraq War, DeLay’s thuggish
successful campaign to do an unprecedented mid-decade gerrymandering of Texas
and kill 4 Democratic seats, the bullying theft of the 2000 election with
massive disenfranchisement, the same irregularities in the 2004 vote, the disappearance of any
privacy, the assumption of the CIA and Justice Dept. by slavish Bush loyalists who are purging
independent voices. Simply, we are one terrorist attack from losing the America we know, the one every US soldier has died for for 228 years. The
world must be prepared for this possibility: that the United States would be
become a militaristic fundamentalist police state. We already have the biggest
prison population and percentage in the world, the old primary accusation
against the Soviets.
A rogue America would sit astride the world like a wanton immature colossus, one
tantrum away from smiting any imagined offender. It wouldn’t make the mistake
of occupying a bitterly hateful country,but would confine itself to holding
resource fields or punitive attacks. Its lack of restraint and wisdom would
propagate through the second and third world and make a nuclear war or exchange
much more likely (in Indiakistan or the Middle East).
It would quickly withdraw from and ignore the United Nations and NATO,
rendering them impotent vestiges, and end the US ability to influence or lead the world with anything
but threats. An ascendant China would massively increase their military and nuclear forces,
perhaps ‘absorbing’ Taiwan, with America’s tacit consent, since we are totally dependent on their
goods. Every country with something Washington wanted would feel compelled to get nukes, following the lead of North Korea, till the world was a nuclear tinderbox. Impoverished
recentralized dictatorship Russia would feel empowered to also use its vast arsenal to “protect”
(absorb) former FSU oil states- Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan; setting the stage for confrontation with America. After US attacks on other Muslim countries, a permanent state of
terrorist war would exist against America by one fourth of the globe, justifying more repression by
the all seeing police state here. Immigration to a xenophobic America would virtually cease, and it's moral
influence evaporate.
The extinguishing of America’s beacon of hope and freedom would likewise dim liberalization in
brutal and repressive regimes throughout the world, as the UN lost any power of
persuasion… and greed and savagery ruled. Europe, Canada, and Australia would not be immune from this new Dark Age: the EU may be
shattered by provincial disputes and national jealousies, but hopefully their
more advanced social evolution would prevent their descent and preserve
the hopes of mankind.
The reelection of our Great Prevaricator may auger a rapid descent
to an ugly, more violent, era.
Michael Hammerschlag's commentary and articles (http://HAMMERNEWS.com) have appeared in Seattle Times, Providence. Journal, Columbia Journalism Review, Hawaii Advertiser, Capital Times, MediaChannel; and Moscow News, Tribune, Times, and
Guardian. He's been a TV
reporter, foreign correspondent, and produced documentaries over 25 years. He
reported on the media savaging of Howard Dean, and had the first big scoop on
all the media mistakes on Election Night 2000 hammerschlag@bigfoot.com