Hooligans in the halls of power
by Benjamin Roberts, 2006

We like to think of advanced societies and empires throughout history unraveling and tumbling over when they are overrun by an unruly and unwashed mob camped outside the gate, as in the French masses toppling the monarchy and Atilla the Hun threatening Rome. Hence the frequent use the term 'barbarians at the gate.' Will America change this trend, and will its undoing be not because of barbarians at the gate, but rather due to 'hooligans in the halls of power?' It is at the same time fascinating and alarming to see our decisionmakers, and those invested with power, take America forever closer to the precipice of global irrelevance. Getting us in America to wake up to this possible outcome is a task and then some, given the fact that we in America think of ourselves as the world rather than as a part of the world. This trait is extremely pronounced in those invested with power, be it political, military, diplomatic, or entrepreneurial power. Now back to the idea of 'hooligan! s in the halls of power.'

The front page of The Washington Post of April 9th screams 'Attacking Iran May Trigger Terrorism: US Experts Wary of Military Action Over Nuclear Program.' No kidding! Well duh! I am no expert but I could have told them that. Iran is no Iraq. It is not run by one strongman on which everything depends as it did in Saddam Hussein's Iraq, making it a cake walk to dismantle. Iran is run by councils of powerful men who decide policy. Attacking such a system would unleash a most unpleasant response on America from that country, along with a firestorm of Muslim anti-American sentiment from the whole region. America would be fighting a whole region and a whole religion. This would not be another Vietnam. It would instead be another Crusades. In short a disaster.

The article goes on to make reference to a recent statement by an Iranian government official Javad Vaeedi who said of this country 'it may have the power to cause harm and pain, but it is also susceptible to harm and pain. So if the United States wants to pursue that path, let the ball roll.' When this statement was made initially the immediate response from the White House was that it was 'highly provocative.' But scant days before, the Pentagon had issued a statement that attacking Iran with mini nukes would be safe and not have too much of an untoward effect on the civilian population. Before that the Bush Administration admitted that top military planners were brainstorming scenarios for attacking Iran, even admitting that the Israelis were involved in these undertakings. Notwithstanding this, our leaders think that such a statement by Iran, a country whose borders we have breached before, is 'provocative.' Who's provoking who? One has to seriously question whether our leaders are of sound mind and body.

Not very long ago George Bush came out and, in addressing our dependence on oil, declared 'America is addicted to oil.' This was somewhat odd given the fact that Bush and his family have built their financial empire on oil. I got to see Ralph Nader in a packed Washington DC church a few years ago. In his dry style of humor he jokingly asserted that the Bush family did not just have interest in oil, but they were practically marinated in it. I thought this was funny and well said. Having George Bush voice concern about America's addiction to oil is like Jack The Ripper lobbying the London municipal government for safety measures to be put in place to protect women on the streets at night. Right after his 'addicted to oil' pep talk Bush promptly announced to America that he would vigorously support World Ports Dubai taking over control of America's oil port terminals because it would facilitate the industry. Incredible! I rest my case for using the Jack the Ripper analogy.

But Bush is not the only one. He has company. In selling the war, Dick Cheney, someone who has never been to war, assured America that Iraqi citizens would be so grateful to be delivered by our forces from Saddam Hussein that they would welcome our soldiers as conquering heroes and throw flowers at their feet. They throw something at our soldiers feet all right, but it not flowers. It is Improvised Explosive Devices, IED's that kill, maim, and forever alter the lives of our young men and women fighting in Iraq. In selling the war, Bush, Dick Cheney, Condeeleeza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, and various others, saturated us with the concept that attacking Iraq was a capital idea because it would stabilize and bring democracy to Iraq and cause democracy to break out all over the region. Instead of stabilizing, Iraq is in a washing machine spin cycle of violence that is fast becoming a civil war. As for the democracy pitch, Bush and his people are the laughingstock of the world. The eason is this:

The recent Palestinian elections swept Hamas into power with a convincing win of more than sixty percent. Observers considered it to be without question free and fair. The people spoke clearly. This election made the Palestinian government the most democratic in the Middle East. More democratic than any Muslim state in the region, and it can be argued even more democratic than the Israeli elections where Ariel Sharon's new party came out ahead of the others with a paltry twenty five percent. Barely room temperature figures. That party will now have to form coalitions and offer compromises that will make the Israeli government fractured at best. Not a good situation. But back to the Palestinian elections. Immediately as the results were announced, Bush, Rice and other spokespersons for the Administration announced that it was having nothing to do with the new government, that it was canceling whatever paltry aid it gave, and demanded that the government promptly recognize Isr ael. Their reason for cutting off ties with the Palestinians was because Hamas was on its terrorist list. Let me get this straight. Fifteen of the nineteen hijackers that killed over three thousand Americans and destroyed the World Trade Center, one of this nation's most enduring symbols of power and achievement, hailed from Saudi Arabia which is not on America's terrorist list, yet a fledgling government that in its years of armed struggle made a point of not targeting Americans, is. Astounding! What an insult to America and all its honest citizens. There is a saying 'Be careful what you wish for. Bush and his people roaming the halls of American power wished for democracy. They got it. Then promptly began to howl that that was not what they wanted. The world is quietly snickering. Now Nader's funny comment about Bush and his family being marinated in oil does not seem so funny after all. It is deadly serious. The man knew what he was talking about.

So the next time Bush comes out doing his Chicken Little the-sky-is-falling routine we should call a time out and take a break from our American Idol show, stop surfing through our infinite number of satellite TV channels, haul our iPod earphones from our ears, step outside our Internet chatrooms, and really listen. When he warns us, as he always does, that 'barbarians are at the gates' of America, (for him its 'terrriss') we should ask ourselves if its really the 'barbarians' who are about to do us in. Or is it instead the 'hooligans' running amok in our halls of power signing our children's death warrants in Muslim lands, refusing to be part of a global co-op to ensure that our air and environment does not become poisoned and unlivable, threatening nations to join our cause or else, spying on us, exposing and endangering the lives of patriotic Americans who silently work on the firing lines secretly ensuring our security, abducting nationals of other countries at will and indefinitely incarcerating them on fake charges, and turning us from a nation used to being treated with goodwill by the rest of the world into one that is highly despised.