[continue]
Bush evidently believes that a divided America and a divided world will help him in his "war on terror." He believes the bully pulpit is for bullying. With him, everything is either black or white. There are no shades of gray. If you are not with him you are against him. And if you are against him he will go all out to destroy you. Witness what happened to Ambassador Wilson, whose wife, Valerie Plame, was outed as a member of the CIA. Think of the attacks Paul O'Neill suffered because he wrote that Bush was talking about war with Iraq early in his administration. Consider the character assassination attempts on Dick Clarke because he wrote that the Bush administration was not focused on terrorism but on Iraq early in the administration.
Remember when Bush did not talk to Schroeder, the German leader, for many months? And the fights with the French? There were many more incidents. Bush is a belligerent bully.
Bush is a competitor. He believes in relentless competition. He wants to allow business free rein to do as it pleases. Never mind the scams and the frauds. Just have laissez faire. Relentless competition, without interference from the government, will boost business to great levels. Just give Big Business tax cuts and the economy will explode. Allow Big Business to exploit resources - and people - in foreign lands. Help them, says Bush, with their exploitation efforts. Here too it is "us against them." We must boost our own at the expense of the poor countries around the world.
The "us against them" philosophy of Bush culminates in the need for war. Nobody was against the war in Afghanistan. But the Iraq war shows the world that Bush can not be trifled with. If he wants war he gets war. Never mind justification. He wanted this Iraq war to show the Middle East who is boss. Of course, it did not work. He succeeded only in inflaming the Arab world and angering more Arabs to become terrorists.
Both America and the world are more divided than ever before. Bush's approach will not reduce terrorism but increase it. It already has. Terrorism is not something practiced by rogue states. Terrorism is practiced by networks. Al Qaeda is a network of individuals in many different countries around the world working together to destroy "satan" - America. Anne-Marie Slaughter, in today's L.A. Times says:
"Terrorism is the ultmate networked threat. It demands a networked response."
Listen to what she says is required for a proper networked response:
"This approach lacks the superficial clarity and simplicity of a call to arms against enemy states like Afghanistan and Iraq. It would accomplish its goals with bureaucrats rather than bullets, and it would require us to build up rather than tear down. It would be a deeply cooperative approach that would both require and foster a sense of common purpose among nations in response to a common threat."
A NETWORKED RESPONSE REQUIRES COOPERATION! IT REQUIRES UNIFICATION, NOT DIVISION!
Instead of bullying, we must devote our time to building community - both within the U.S. and among the nations of the world. Social harmony should be our goal.
Instead of business exploitation we must work toward building up the resouces of the poor, both inside and outside America. Making poor societies prosperous should be our goal
Instead of macho belligerence and war, we must work towards building world intelligence and law- enforcing relationships among all nations. These common endeavors will eventually eradicate terrorism.
Social harmony, prosperity and terrorism eradication, in both the U.S. and the world, can all be accomplished through cooperative efforts. These three broad goals encompass practically every individual Democratic goal Kerry wants to advance: minority rights and tolerance, civil liberties, health care, job creation, economic growth, restoring America's image abroad, working for peace among nations, building democratic societies.
I hope John Kerry chooses the following for his motto:
UNITE AMERICA & UNITE THE WORLD
Social Harmony-Prosperity-Terror Eradication
