Sept. 3, 2007
The Madness Of "King George"
The Nation: Across The Atlantic, Britons View The U.S. As A Little Brother Gone Astray
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Protestors dressed as US President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair embrace in Trafalgar Square on February 24, 2007 in London. (GETTY IMAGES/Peter Macdiarmid)
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To those of us here in Britain, there is an Orwellian edge to the news that George Bush is invoking executive privilege to protect his policies from Congressional investigation. Just like that scene in "Animal Farm," when the newly-liberated animals start to believe that some are more equal than others, it sounds like the President of the United States has reverted to the divine right of kings. Wasn't that something you guys fought so hard to escape from? The phrase "I'm the decider" may have a certain folksy charm that Charles I would never have stooped to, but it's clearly coming from the same stable. And we should be just as suspicious of it now as we were then.
I say "we," because even though you decided it was wiser to cut and run, risking all for a new life across the pond, those of us you left behind in the seventeenth century didn't like it any more than you did. Nobody does; it's humiliating to have to submit to someone who thinks he's unaccountable. We tried our hand at civil war, cut the head off our king and toughed it out for a while, but in the end our nerve failed us. And as we negotiated our shabby compromise with royalty, you moved the project forward with a nation devoted for the first time to the cause of liberty - leaving us to watch with an older brother's bitter blend of scorn and envy as his younger sibling threatened to outdo him.
As, of course, you eventually did. And little wonder. With the dispossessed of every land flocking to your shores in search of life on a level playing field, you were a beacon of hope for those on the run from tyranny and oppression. France even sent you the Statue of Liberty, a gift to mark your first centenary, and a fitting symbol of what you represented to ordinary people everywhere. Fueled by the power of this American Dream, you were then the beneficiary as the Old World fell apart over its ancient tribal rivalries. For a while, you shone as the best hope for stability and civilization in a world now facing a new kind of tyranny, the ideological impasse of the totalitarian state. But as the cold war ended, the mad math of the military buildup left you the de facto policeman of the world.
What a chance you had then to use such awesome power for the good! To use that unique moment in history to reform the international institutions, make them truly democratic and bring the dream of world peace to fruition by consent! But the price of freedom, then as now, is vigilance; and somehow the lumbering giant of American democracy fell asleep at the wheel, tranquilized by its own success. The neocons - cheered on by our very own neocon-man, Tony Blair - were allowed to let that power go to their heads. And what they decided was not that the world was to be one but that it was theirs to be won - by force if necessary.
Back here in Britain, when Bush came to shove and we were asked to sign up for the Iraq debacle, we turned out for the biggest demonstration in British history, with more than a million people choking the streets of London in protest against such lunacy. I know - I was there with my family, and old friends and new from all walks of life. We were there because we knew there was more at stake than the same old corruption of power. We were there to protest the assertion of executive privilege on the grand scale - the sidelining of the UN, the flouting of international law and the principle of the pre-emptive strike.
Of course, it didn't do much good. As an old Empire on our uppers, we can only ever hope to play Greece to your Rome, with our leaders clinging lamely to your coattails. But this is not about empire anymore. It's about the future of our children, the future of the human project, the future of our planet. Because unlike the days of the Founding Fathers, there's nowhere else for us to go - the ground has run out under our feet. Whether we like it or not, we're all in this together now. The only place left to make a fresh start is where we already are.
So as we watch your President elevate an excuse for evasion into a point of principle, we can't help wondering whether history has come full circle. Does this mean the world's most successful political experiment is destined to fail after all? Will the land of life, liberty and happiness succumb to presidential prerogative? For the sake of the rest of us, for the sake of the world, we can only hope you care enough to call your neo-King George to account, and say it ain't so.
By Simon Prentis
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See all 88 CommentsWhat we have here really is all 3 branches of government owned by the corporations, and their big $$ donations. What we''re talking about in the US is NOT a monarchy, but a government, by and for the corporation.
In the case of Iraq, most of the democrates who are critical of the war effort voted in favor of that war. Time seems to have washed away the memory of why we are active in Iraq anyway. Perhaps you recall the day when Saddam invaded Kuwait.
Posted by dkwillia at 09:01 AM : Sep 03, 2007
Now I''m a Combat Vet and LISTENED to the LOSER a few still call a President when he invaded Iraq. Kuwait had NOTHING to do with anything NOTHING AT ALL. The UN Inspectors was in Iraq at the time looking for WMD''s and THAT is the reason given by Sir Lies-A-Lot. He came before us and said he COULD NOT give those inspectors time to chech out Iraq for WMD''s.. he had the "SMOKING GUN" and HAD to invade. That is the TRUTH and it will stand. He LIED to us and he LIED us into a War. The fact that Congress gave him authority to us force IF NECESSARY, in no way justifies either what he did or why he did it. The Brits are right and it''s high time we LISTENED to our long time friends and allies who constantly tell us we elected a FASCIST to lead us.
Ah, yes, I recall that. And then George the First kicked Saddam''s butt back to Iraq, didn''t he? --But he wisely didn''t occupy Iraq and throw an entire people into civil war.
If it weren''t for the USA, Europeans would
be speaking German right now.
End of discussion
.
It would have been much preferred if western Europe had supported the war but we cannot tie all our foreign policy to obtaining consensus with western europe. they sure as heck don''t consult with us when they go to war. SEE world warI, world war II, french wars in vietnam. there attempt to continue control in Algeria et al.
Whether we were right in invading and overthrowing Iraq is not the issue. The issue is whether we should tie our policies to the opinion of western europe. We should when our policies affect their interests try to come to a consensus but this will not always be possible and at times people like the french who opposed american designs to assert their power in the world will be obstructionists for that sole purpose,
Note we have left the attempt to convince the Iranians to not build nuclear bombs to the Europeans and it has failed miserably. What the answeris I do not pretend to know but its obvious from this that they are not always right or effectual and that simply because thye oppose our actions does not make them right.
Here in Britain it''s the anniversary of our entry into WWII - 3rd September 1939 - more than two years before your army crossed the Atlantic ''to save us from speaking German''.
Don''t get me wrong. I have the utmost respect for the sacrifices in blood made in Europe by Americans thousands of miles from home.
I was a child then, knew a number of GIs, and don''t need reminding how much we owe the USA and the Soviets. Without those two great powers, the Nazis would not have been defeated.
The future for the peoples of Occupied Europe would have been unspeakably terrible - talking German would have been the least of their troubles.
But perhaps you hadn''t noticed - we ungrateful British, with US economic help but not troops, had already stopped the Nazis from imposing their language and their New Order on us, long before your army got here. If we hadn''t, you wouldn''t have had a land base to launch your attacks on mainland Europe!
End of discussion.
If it weren''''t for the USA, Europeans would
be speaking German right now.
End of discussion
.
Posted by processor2 at 10:33 AM : Sep 03, 2007
+ report abuse
You think? I don''t suppose the British who fought the German Air Force to a stand still OR the Russian''s who defeated them on the EASTERN front had anything to do with that? America''s strong points up until King George was our ability to UNITE. He and the Southern Fascist ended that AND abvocated the title of LEADER of the Free World. Now the only one''s Bush leads is stupid little fascist like yourself. YES I care what our friends and long time allies say... I do not care what a member of the Toe Tappers Association think. Sieg Heil Bush!!
Another Bush Neanderthal heard from, I hear Geico is looking to cast you in their next commercial.
As I think of Amreica.
My forebears who were
Brit most likely.
If I could ask Why.
They took it to their death.
The answer I want so bad.
Were they so asamed of
their Mother nation.
I would not be if I knew.
Yet I ask why and cry
Why did they come here.
If they could have seen
the hatred America is
Would they stayed put.
Only they could answer.
They used the church as
the reason to leave.
I don''t believe that.
Were there more to it.
The sad thing was that hate of the Mother nation still lives
in America.
I can feel it still.
Yet that hate will ruin
in the end.
Yet I was born in America.
My forefathers came from abroad.
Where I feel may have been UK.
I love her Queen.
It is so sad what America has become.
A nation that said We the people,for the
people and by the people.
Her leadership is not.
A rude nation that went blind.
Will she see the light or
remain in darkless.
Time will tell.
Verse by Barbara Ann
Please give me credit if you use this verse.
That I ask.
Although this is an opinion piece, it is recognized by people like myself to be all too true.
It is a shame on American journalism that it had to come from friends in another country instead of our own journalists.
I have never been so ashamed of some/many of my fellow Americans.
My ancestry goes back to the founding days of America and I never would have thought that we would elect a president (twice) that would devastate, not only our reputation as a leader of the free world, but also the constitution itself, and still have so many supporters.
To alanrobisch2:
You said, %u201CWhether we were right in invading and overthrowing Iraq is not the issue.%u201D
Subterfuge does not change facts.
To the contrary, because of all the lies and deceit used to obtain congressional approval for military action, and then ONLY IF NEEDED, and taking said action when clearly NOT NEEDED makes it a MAJOR issue.
As for caring what Europeans think, when the obvious truth is spoken it matters not who speaks it.
GWB disgusts every true American.
Maybe the British should get their own house in order before they criticize us. I think the American intellectual elite are doing a fine job critiquing our own faults-- not that it matters since George Bush listens to no one.
I''m just sick of this guy and all my British friends whining about America, when their own country is also teetering on the brink of facism!
Posted by socrates392 at 02:31 PM : Sep 03, 2007
~~~~~~~~~
Having said that, is there any part of the article, you find to be incorrect?
We as Americans tend to not like losers and GWB is perceived as a loser. IN the long run with sufficient force we might have helped create a stable state in Iraq but we as American''s have trouble persevering through difficult times.
Harry Truman had a 22% rating after a much bloodier and horrific war in Korea. We made many mistakes and 60000 men died. IN this war 3500 men have died. We have not lost and sufficient force and patience would probably result in a stable govt but we do not have the willingness to accept that there is a price to pay for a stable world.
If we had shown this lack of perseverance in the civil war,revolutionary war we would either be still a colony of England or a divided country.
I understood your point clearly and more subterfuge still does not change the facts.
The wrongful invasion of a sovereign country (Iraq), especially based on lies and deceit, is the Major issue of politics today, both foreign and at home.
Great job Mr. President.........great job!. Another axis of evil taken care of.
Not sure why Bill Clinton took a "loneranger" approach to this in the 1990''''s. Siged an agreement and never checked to see if North Korea was playing by the rules, which they weren''''t.
Our President choose a policy where he included our allies and friends in the region. And they will be regular inspections to make sure agreements are in tact.
Great job Mr. President for including not excluding or friends and allies.
Just the facts folks...........Just the facts.
Hitler, told fat germans they were chosen by god, master race. germans, fat, poor, stressed, just lost the last couple wars theyd been involved in, most they started. bush, tells fat stupid americans they are chosen by god, fat, stressed, just lost the last couple wars they started. see any similarities? basically, germans were all uneducated and angry at the world not getting thier greatness, take slacker loser, elect, get total war and incompetence. funny how many G*A*YS were in the nazi party. sure most were killed, but that was with the complience of the g*a*ys in power. see any similarites to the recent republican ****-fest? lets see, chosen people, moral terpitude, illegal war, racisem, blindly supportive populace, yep, just like berlin in the 30''s. except, we have better weapons and stupider citizens this time around. lets hit Iran, i want to see the stupid look on your faces when you figure out you were played by idiots. and no amount of accusing liberals, or whatever is going to hide the fact it was a stupid plan by a stupid man. i would love to see iran smacked down. and every loser that follows 1000 years old tribal babble brought into the 21st century at gunpoint. or shot. but that is not reality. go watch tv. its called fantasy for a reason. your obviously afraid to be part of the world community. have a big mac.
However, as Winston Churchill once said, Americans will eventually do the right thing, after trying everything else. We survived the madness and hysteria of McCarthyism in the 1950''s, and more Americans are starting to grasp the realities of the Bush administration.
Liberals are finally getting pissed off and fighting back after years of being slandered as immoral, anti-family, and unpatriotic, all for the crime of having more sense than arrogance.
Posted by jn122736 at 03:11 PM : Sep 03, 2007
+ report abuse
This to me is a matter of subjectivity. In so far as I didnt think we needed to invade Iraq, I don''t think that it was done illegaly. If you can tell me a law that people actually respect or regard when they decide war is needed please let me know. I haven''t heard one.
Wars are fought usually because we want something we can''t get through peaceful means such as the overthrow of Sadam Hussein. I cannot believe we went to war with the idea of getting rid of WMD and made a thorough search for them and then couldn''t find them.
It would seem the worst conspirator would know that their bluff would be called. I believe there was a legitimate belief that Hussein still had WMD and that we went to war to remove them. I also think we believed at least the advisors to the president felt we could create a stable Iraq without wmd.
Unfortunately as many warned we opened pandora''s box and supplied too few troops to truly maintain peace and allow for the creation of a stable govt. It would be virtually impossible for a democratic govt to rule with the different groups trying to prevent it by military or other means
Yes corporations are capable of misdeeds but so is every other human enterprise
The Brian: But They Will Be More Than Happy To Loot And Pillage In The Chaos America Leaves Behind"
To alanrobisch2, you write "I don''''t think that it was done illegaly. If you can tell me a law that people actually respect or regard when they decide war is needed please let me know. I haven''''t heard one."
In the first sentence, you imply that the Iraq and Afghanistan invasions, based on lies was legal, then in the next, you seem to admit that it was illegal, but its OK because it is war.
The attempt to deceive is self evident. And you claim not to understand Hitler, but engage in the same mindless worship of the war demagogue as the Germans did back then.
We know. The Bu$h administration is a trial by fire for our country.
When a well-planned coup is successful, there is little citizens can do but wait for the principals to self-destruct.
This fascist new world order is very much like the Crusades, when the Church was backed by the military.
Bu$hCo is backed by the Pentagoons, a deadly corporate nightmare. Big Oil, with the world''s armies providing the muscle, will now grab Iraq and Iran''s oil. Saudi Arabia has already joined Bu$hCo.
The trailer-trash braindead religo-drunks and conservatives were conned, NeoConned.
It''s a waiting game, and a deadly one, as Bu$hCo has had Halliburton build huge camps if the public really catches on. We wait. Iran is next, at any cost.
Posted by alanrobisch2"
Astute observation, but you seem, in many of your postings, to suggest that holding corporations responsible for their misdeeds is wrong.
Posted by brianbwb at 03:39 AM : Sep 04, 2007
Of course not, but the posters seem to feel that corporations are the source of all evil in govt through their influence. I think if for no other reason significant punishment has to be meted out when corp err to help deter further wrongdoing. Trust me I have no love for people like Ken Lay who lie to obtain their ends
Posted by alanrobisch2 at 08:00 PM : Sep 03, 2007
If you think the invasion was not a blatant violation of international law, then you obviously have never read the UN Charter, of which we are a signatory nation and charter member, which prohibits war except unless attacked or in support of another country which has been attacked.
If it weren''t for the USA, Europeans would
be speaking German right now.
End of discussion
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