While some heralded the end of the Cold War as the victory of Democracy others were more sceptical. In some cases the end of the bipolar world order has created a time of instability and fear. Not a few movies and novels in the 1990’s reflected this.
Some in the United States
believed not only had America won, America would now go on to dominate the
earth and certainly America’s actions during the latter part of the Clinton era
and ever since has been geared toward this end.
However it has proved fatally
flawed on at least two points. First, Democracy itself has proven elusive. It
is simply not part of the social paradigm in parts of the world. This is not to
suggest the people in parts of the Middle East, Asia, and Russia are somehow a
lesser people, more given to subjugation, unable to be responsible. Far from
it. In fact American Democracy has failed so miserably those attributes could
certainly be applied to American society itself. No, the reason it has not
taken the same kind of root is the daily cultural concerns of the people in
these lands is quite different. Americans do not appreciate the role of history
or the uniqueness of the American geography. More on this shortly.
In many cases Democracy has led
to cultural forces taking political root that posture these countries in a
position of non-cooperation and in some cases hostility to American interests.
This has forced the United States to speak out of both sides of its mouth. When
Democracy produces the ‘wrong’ result, America has shown little in the way of
scruples when it comes to manipulation, assassination, coup d’état, or whatever
else is required in order to bring about the desired result. Of course this is
rightly perceived as antithetical to the values the United States purports to
promote. And in the end much of the world realized the United States is the
same as every other imperial power. Just like the Soviet Union, the British, or
French Empires it hides behind hypocritical ideology and speech but in the end
is about just one thing…power.
Secondly, the Cold War paradigm
itself was a false one and created a bipolar world order that was
a-historical. The United States believed and believes it to be a new paradigm
which the United States won. And yet in reality it was something of an
historical anomaly, an interlude. Like it or not, the reason certain countries
took the positions they did during history was due to geographical and cultural
reasons which have not changed. 1945-1991 created a unique situation that
forced nations to act in some cases against historical interests. But though
the United States continues to try to coerce and manipulate, the world is reverting
to what it once was before.
To be sure it’s never exactly
the same, but just as the Balkans tried to revert to pre-World War II paradigms
as soon as Communism fell, today we see the post-Ottoman/Cold War Middle
Eastern paradigm collapsing, and nations and peoples reverting to historic
roles. And the future will prove an ugly one unless new orders and alignments
are formed….one’s rooted in historical reality, not a forced order from outside
of history… a forced Pax Americana.
The American public is unable
to grasp any of this and is completely subject to media spin as we’ve seen time
and again over the past couple of years. I sat with astonishment watching the
media and Obama just flat lie and deceive when it came to the toppling of
Mubarak. Some perceived the initial hesitation as caution or perhaps
indecision. In reality the removal of Mubarak was a major strategic defeat for
the United States.
There are many foolish people
who believe Obama is a secret Muslim and in cahoots with the Muslim Brotherhood
and that he supported this from the beginning. There is absolutely zero
evidence for this. Obama did not apologize for American actions in his famous
Cairo speech. He was trying to cool down the raging hot fires of the Middle
East after eight disastrous years of the Bush administration which did
incalculable harm.[i]
The downfall of Mubarak put the
whole Camp David accord at risk which had been the platform of Middle Eastern
stability for over thirty years. No one in Washington would have wanted to put
that at risk. The United States viewed Egypt as a power ally and exerted
considerable control over the country through the tight relationship between
the Egyptian and American military forces.
Why does the United States sell
fighter jets and other arms to countries like Egypt? Even the post-Mubarak
Egypt? The sale of F-16’s has caused a near hysteria in some circles.[ii]
Aside from Lockheed Martin
doing very well, it gives the US Military a mechanism for strengthening the
relationship with the Egyptian military. If the Egyptians don’t do what they’re
told, weapons and parts can be withheld. There’s also the issue of debt and
financing. The loan can be tweaked if non-compliance is an issue and make life
difficult for Egypt in the international banking and finance community.
Also, the sale allows the
United States to continue fostering the close relationship with the Egyptian
military through advisors, training, Egyptians coming to American schools etc…
This can come in rather handy when the time comes to possibly remove Morsi or
whomever from power, or perhaps to check his power when the military works
against him and countermands his orders.
Again I have to believe even
some of the so-called Christian commentators understand something of this…but
the truth is rather inconvenient for their audience. Hype and propaganda and
always a great deal of fear are much more useful.
After 1991 NATO struggled to
find a raison d’être, a reason for existence. The threat of Russian tanks
storming across the Northern European plain now seemed a distant and
inconceivable threat, if it ever was one to begin with.
And so NATO in order to
continue functioning as a mechanism for the American Empire had to be re-cast.
And it was in the Balkans where this occurred. The Serbs were non-compliant
with the American claim on Eastern Europe and due to their historical
associations with the Russians the only time to act was when Russia was down.
Like Bismarck who moved when Russia was re-aligning in the post-Crimean period,
the United States decided to move while Moscow languished under the weak
transitional rule of Yeltsin. Serbia was slapped down and brought into
compliance and NATO’s role shifted to that of a joint European-American power
projection. Many in Europe were and still are uncomfortable with this while the
new regimes in the post Warsaw Pact scrambled to join. Being within NATO means
security and for the many countries caught in geographical and historical
middle, security means a lot more than freedom.
It’s interesting though that
once again Germany finds itself stuck in the awkward middle. The European Union
was formed in the post-War era in order to create a stable order that would
keep the nations of Europe from going to war against one another. For some
Europeans they resented the new bi-polar order which for most of them meant
domination by the United States. While some (particularly in Germany and
Britain) really and truly believed in the necessity of the United States in the
post-War structure, others in places like Italy and France were less than sure.
Stability, mutual interests,
respect, these various mechanisms were to prevent Europe from ever getting
caught in another 1914 situation. The unification of Germany under Bismarck had
destabilized the post-Metternich European order and a formation like the
European Union would help to avert crisis causing disparities.
However in the 21st
century we find a strange situation. German culture and leadership has put
Germany in a situation where they are virtually atop the European economic and
thus almost the political arrangement. The economic experiment has largely
failed. Disparity still exists and while the poorer countries thought the Union
to be real and that they too would be able to participate in an equal standard
of living and to join a European partnership, they’re finding that when they
were extended too much credit and their fiscal houses were mismanaged… their
northern colleagues are reticent to help.
And yet Germany still bears a
great deal of guilt leftover from the events of the Second World War and has
proved willing to try and help countries like Greece, Italy, Spain, and now
Cyprus. However for the citizens of these countries the German imposed
austerity ‘feels’ more like subjugation which leaves them asking the very
ironic question…..what happened to 1945? Wasn’t Germany defeated? Why then are
they essentially running Europe?
[i] I’m hardly the only one to say it. History will not
be kind to George W. Bush. His presidency was an absolute disaster on so many
fronts and from a Christian perspective further tainted by the fact that so
many Evangelicals were within the administration and exerting influence on its
domestic and foreign policy. While I’m not a great advocate of international
courts or institutions, the man should be tried for war crimes and should be
sitting in a jail cell. And if not in The Hague then certainly in Fr.
Leavenworth. In terms of the laws of this land and whatever is left of the US
Constitution, that wicked man decimated them. His successors will prove no
better.
I am often stumped when
asked who I think the greatest American president was. I can’t think of a
single one that I think of as a good person or someone worthy of regard. I
think it’s a list of wicked and wretched men for the most part, some worse than
others, but none worthy of some kind of accolade. In the 20th
century John Kennedy alone deserves some credit for his actions. He was a
wretched immoral man but at least attempted to put a stop to the madness of the
Cold War and I believe he was killed for it.
[ii] I’m thinking of Mr. Sekulow and the ACLJ. For them
it’s a platform to fan the flames of the Obama/Muslim conspiracy. The recent
noise concerning the Ben-ghazi debacle is along the same lines. I think Sekulow
probably knows better with regard to the weapon sales. Do I think he’s just
being plain deceitful? I have no doubt whatsoever. Christian political power
players are some of the worst liars out there. He could be simply ignorant.
Many are also very guilty of this, but I believe he has enough influential
friends that someone would whisper the truth into his ear. But that’s just it.
Truth has nothing to do with it.