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Goin Down To The American Crossroads |
Current rating: 3 |
by John Baldridge
Email: webmaster (nospam) one-world.org (unverified!)
Phone: 217-356-0422 |
09 Oct 2002
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An Analysis of Current Political Realities Regarding a Possible Unilateral War, and an Exhortation to Choose the peace. |
To the Editor,
America now stands at a crossroads. We face the question of how to define ourselves in the post-coldwar world community. And although it may be an oversimplification, the current political climate boils down to two stark choices for the American people.
The first choice is to grant George W. Bush the power to initiate a unilateral war with Iraq, even if the UN Security Council disagrees. The second choice is to retain the exclusive power of the United States Congress to declare war, as granted by the Constitution.
If Congress surrenders its right to declare war to the president, and George W. Bush chooses war in the face of UN objections, we are very likely to end up branded as a rogue state by much of the world community. In fact, a great number of countries--most of whom are our traditional allies and/or business partners--are deeply worried by President Bush's tendency to exalt US militarism over global cooperation. A current search on Google for the phrase "America is a rogue state" turns up 139,000 hits. The fact is, a great many people in the world are afraid of a bid for American world domination. And while such a bid may not trouble most Americans, we would do well to recall that the US accounts for less than 10% of the world population. Action that is perceived as a move towards worldwide US hegemony will run afoul of most of the rest of the planet.
The other alternative is for the US, in its new post-coldwar role, to begin working with the world community to build a global security infrastructure. Through the UN, we can help to build sustainable international coalitions to deal with global threats in a way that doesn't alienate our allies. We can show the world that the US is not a maverick, ready to disregard the opinion of most of the world population. We can strengthen our international community by offering our unique military capability to uphold a new world order of cooperation and consensus.
To that end, America must insist that the UN Security Council be the formost authority in determining the proper course of action with regard to Iraq, and must be prepared to uphold the decisions of that august body. To be sure, American sensibilities will not be disregarded by the world community, and our arguments will be given great respect. But if the UN chooses the noble path of peacemaking over war, the American people should embrace the chance to show the world that we are ready to bring strength to a global initiative for peace--not the radical drumbeats and gunshots of a unilateral war.
John Baldridge
Champaign, IL
10 October 2002 |
