Imperial Overstretch: George W Bush and the Hubris of Empire
By Roger Burback and Jim Tarbell
(David Philip/Zed Publishers)
Under the leadership of George W Bush the United States has become more than ever an imperial power. In this often deeply disturbing analysis of contemporary US foreign policy, the authors show how the Bush government has pursued an aggressive, bullying practice vis-Ã -vis the rest of the world in the interests of big business and religious fundamentalism. It is not that the US has never before been an imperial power. What is significant, the authors suggest, is that since the end of the Cold War, the US has globalised its interests and interventions.
The Bush government has been the most aggressive, most imperial of all US regimes, also the most ideological. Even before 2000, neoconservative ideologues, big business and the Christian fundamentalist right have been planning for the Project for the New American Century (PNAC).
In their analysis of the PNAC, the authors show how the neocon intellectuals have seen US mastery of the Middle East as crucial: the PNAC and documents as far back as the late 1990s were advocating the invasion and pacification of Iraq, the imposition of a “friendly” government and the takeover of Iraqi oil resources. Together with Christian fundamentalists they have been strong supporters of the Israeli right wing, the government of Ariel Sharon and the cessation of Palestinian peace settlements.
In 2000 about a third of the drafters of the PNAC were appointed to Cabinet posts and advisory positions in Bush’s government. They have also provided a powerful intellectual backing to the right wing of the Republican Party.
The authors show how the character and personality of Bush feeds into what they suggest will be a disastrous new US imperialism.
These imperial designs have already begun. The reaction to the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks has been one of cycles of aggression and repression. Bush and his right-wing colleagues cynically manipulated public shock to embark on outrageous military adventures in the interests of their vision: they shifted into military mode, calling 9/11 a “war on terror” and browbeating allies and sympathisers into supporting them.
First, they invaded Afghanistan on the pretext of destroying al-Qaeda and punishing the Taliban regime for “harbouring terrorists”. Next, they linked it with destroying terrorists everywhere and punishing states they deemed constituted the “axis of evil”. Third, they invaded Iraq on pretexts that have proved false — the “weapons of mass destruction” claim.
Domestically, Bush and company have instituted new security legislation (the Patriot Bill), which radically curtails citizens’ rights to privacy, protection under the rule of law and, to some degree, freedom of expression.
The US has also made it clear to the world that it intends to do as it likes. Contempt for the United Nations as a peacekeeper and mediator of conflict has grown, as has a cavalier disregard for international law and protocols regarding the environment. However, as the authors point out, Bush has not had it all his way. Afghanistan remains in many respects a mess and the invasion and occupation of Iraq has turned into a disaster.
Most significantly for the US, the cost of the war has skyrocketed — and there may not be economic benefits for the US corporations. Beyond that, the US economy has taken a hammering, while the basic socio-economic conditions for ordinary Americans have declined with the rise of military spending. Such spending, the authors note, always benefits the arms industry (many of whom are connected, dare we say it, to the oil and other businesses that funded Bush).
In the end, the authors argue, Bush’s new imperial policy will bring the US empire to its knees.
Roger Burbach and Jim Tarbell have produced a carefully researched, brilliant, unsettling book, deserving wide readership. For those of us who find the current incumbent of the White House slightly crazy and highly dangerous to the well-being of the human race, it is heartening to read this book, by Americans committed to human rights, rule of law, economic justice and peace between nations and cultures. This is the “other America”, perhaps even the “ideal America” of its more progressive founders.