Ron Suskind's new book
The One Percent Doctrine is rapidly becoming a must read for anyone who wants to understand how badly off-course the United States has drifted since the Bush regime took power. I haven't finished the book, but I just read a passage that is extremely prophetic in light of Israel's invasion of Lebanon. The book suggests Israel's attack was inevitable because of the stark change in Middle East policy adopted by the Bush regime:
on page 104; last paragraph.
Relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States were in tatters. The Saudis had been stewing for more than a year, in fact, ever since it became clear at the start of 2001 that this administration was to alter the long-standing U.S. role of honest broker in the Israel-Palestinian conflict to something less than that. The President, in fact, had said in the first NSC principals meeting of his administration that Clinton had overreached at the end of his second term, bending too much toward Yasser Arafat--who then broke off productive Camp David negotiations at the final moment--and that "we're going to tilt back toward Israel." Powell, a chair away in the Situation Room that day, said such a move would reverse thirty years of U.S. policy, and that it could unleash the new prime minister, Ariel Sharon, and the Israeli army in ways that could be dire for the Palestinians. Bush's response: "Sometimes a show of force by one side can really clarify things."
So once again, the administration shows a preference for brute force to "get their way." Morality be damned! Right and wrong be damned! The Cheney/Bush world view is that we're the strongest nation in the world, so we should be able to force others to do as we want! And since Israel is militarily strong also, they should enjoy the same right!
How can we tell if Bush is right about this? It's simple: The U.S. is the only nation in the world that supports Israel's brutal aggression (Tony Blair doesn't count as a nation). Every other nation says that Israel overreacted. Therefore, unless there is some compelling evidence to suggest that Bush possesses keen insight into how well a military excursion will turn out, the rest of the world is right. Bush is wrong.
The world will not survive another two years of the Bush regime. Before they have a chance to pour even more gasoline onto the fire, Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld must be impeached as quickly as possible!