"An Inaugural formula for endless war"

[AncientMariner]

An Inaugural formula for endless war

by Patrick J. Buchanan

January 26,2005

From The American Cause website

 

Where Woodrow Wilson was going to make the world safe for democracy, George W. Bush is doing him one better. Bush is going to make the whole world democratic. As he declared in his Inaugural Adress, our "great objective" is "ending tyranny" on earth.

 

And how does the president propose to achieve it?

 

'So, it is the policy of the United States to seek and support the growth of democratic movements in every nation and culture, with the ultimate goal of ending tyranny in our world'

 

The president is here asserting a unilateral American right to interfere in the internal affairs of every nation on earth, without regard to whether these nations have threatened us or attacked us. Their domestic politics are now our concern, because if they are not democratic, we are not secure.

 

Let it be said: This is a formula for endless collisions between this nation and every autocratic regime on earth and must inevitably lead to endless wars. And wars are the death of republics.

 

President Bush also plans to badger and hector foreign leaders on the progress they are making, or failing to make, in attaining U.S. standards of liberty and freedom.

 

'We will persistantly clarify the choice before every ruler and nation: The moral choice between oppression, which is always wrong, and freedom, which is eternally right. ...We will encourage reform in other governments by making clear that success in our relations will require the decent treatment of their own peoples...'

 

One awaits with anticipation the next visit of the Saudi crown prince. And as there are at least 50 autocracies or tyrannies in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, questions arise.

 

If President Musharraf refuses to yield dictatorial powers, will Bush sanction Pakistan, and risk his overthrow and transfer of his nuclear weapons to pro-Taliban generals sympathetic to al-Qaida?

 

If Beijing declares its treatment of dissidents to be none of Bush's business, will Bush impose sanctions and enrage a regime ruling 1.3 billion people with whom we have $200 billion in annual trade?

 

When a chinese fighter crashed a U.S. reconnaissance plane and Beijing held its crew hostage, Bush meekly apologized. Now, he's going to take these xenophobic Chinese communists to the woodshed?

 

If President Putin tells Bush the oligarch Mikhail Khordokovsky will stay in prison and he will decide how elections are run in Russia, what is Bush going to do? Isolate him and drive Russia into the arms of China, as we have already done with our sanction on Burma?

 

If the Saudis reject democracy, are we going to stop buying their oil? Somewhere, Osama is praying that Bush will undermine the Saudi monarchy, as another democracy worshiper, Jimmy Carter, helped to undermine the Shah - after whom we got the Ayatollah.

 

President Bush is championing a policy of interventionism in the internal affairs of every nation on earth. But did we not learn from 9-11 that intervention is not a cure for terrorism, it is the cause of terrorism.

 

Clearly, the president does not understand this, or believe it. For, in his inaugural, he describes 9-11 as the day "when freedom came under attack." But Osama bin Laden did not dispatch his fanatics to ram planes into the World Trade Center because he hated our Bill of Rights. He did it because he hates our presence and our policies in the Middle East.

 

President Bush says we have no other choice than to end tyranny on earth because the "survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the succes of liberty in other lands." But this is ahistorical.

 

The world has almost always been a cesspool of despotisms, but America has always been free. We have retained our liberty by following the counsel of Washington and staying out of foreign wars that were not America's wars. It has been when we intervened in wars where our vital interests were not imperiled - crushing the Philippine insurrection, World War 1, invading Iraq - that America has come to grief.

 

Occupying the Philippines led us to intervention in Asia, war with Japan and, soon after, wars to defend the South Korean and Indochinese remnants of the Japanese empire. Wilson's war gave us the Versailles peace treaty that tore a defeated Germany apart and imposed unpayable debts on her people, leading directly to Hitler.

 

The invasion of Iraq has reaped a harvest of hatred in the Arab world, cost us 10,000 dead and wounded and $200 billion, and created a new training ground and haven for terrorist to replace the one we cleaned out in Afghanistan.

 

In declaring it to be America's mission in the world to end tyranny on earth, President Bush is launching a crusade even more ambitous and utopian than was Wilson's. His crusade, too, will end, as Wilson's did, in dissillusionment for him and tragedy for his country.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[theist]

Buchanon is too much of an isolationist for me. I agree with him a lot but he takes non intervention too far IMO.

 

Of course one must pick one's battles with intelligent regard for the reactions. What's new in that?

 

I would like to see the US increase it's military at least three fold and put countries like Sudan on notice that if they don't stop the Arabs from slaughtering the blacks and driving them off their land we are coming in to it, and in a big way.

 

I accept the reality and idea of the US as the policeman for the world. I would however like to see it used in a principled way. But to sit back and not help others in need as they are being exploited by these petty dictators when we could help is against dharma as I understand it.

 

There needs to be a strong determined force for good in the world. The US should measure up and stand up. Who else will?The UN? They are too busy wringing their hands and drinking coffee.

[Kulapavana]

"I would like to see the US increase it's military at least three fold"

 

with or without draft? are you also willing to pay more taxes to keep it afloat?

[theist]

No I oppose the draft as it goes against the pyschologogical make up of many people to be in the military.

 

I would also use this army for other things such as disaster relief, border protection etc. But I am not talking anything much more than raising it back to levels, bootwise, to where it was before Clinton cut it down. I am more speaking in terms of technological increases. This is actually happening anyways in terms of exotic weaponry but I would like to see it openly used. In other words I am talking of US world domination on a much larger scale.

 

(Pause for the reader to gather themselves and calm down.)

 

I see it as the duty of America to play the ksatriya role in the world. This country has been anyway but I would like to see it clarified and purified to the highest degree that can be expected in this age.

[theist]

 

Conv. LA Dec.9, 1973

 

Prajäpati: Many of the men who founded this country were very pious, Srila Prabhupäda.

 

Prabhupäda: Eh?

 

Prajäpati: Some of the founding fathers of the country were very pious because...

 

Prabhupäda: You are still pious. Otherwise, how you have taken to Krsna consciousness? You are still pious, but you are misguided. Your, your nation is very good. I like the American nation. Simply little reformation required. Now just, for example, this “In God we trust.” This is very nice example. Now, they do not know what is God, how to trust. That is, that has to be done. That has to be learned.

 

Prajäpati: Trust means to depend completely upon God?

 

Prabhupäda: Eh? Just like Arjuna. While Arjuna was fighting the battle, he completely depended on Krsna. But he was not idle. Completely, to depend completely on God does not mean idleness. Arjuna is the example. Krsna never advised Arjuna that “You are My friend. You are My devotee, completely dependent upon Me. So you can sit down.” Never said like that. Similarly, we should remain always completely dependent upon God. That does not mean we shall be lazy and idle and gossiping. We must fully utilize the intelligence which God has given us, but at the same time, we must completely depend on God. This is called “In God we trust.”

Svarüpa Dämodara: This is called?

 

Prabhupäda: “We trust in God.” I am speaking that American currency notes bears the slogan, “In God we trust.”

 

Svarüpa Dämodara: Yes.

 

Prabhupäda: I am talking on that matter. So if the American nation trusts in God... If not... They say, they have declared. Now, the difficulty is they do not know actually what is God, how to trust. That we are teaching. So the government must come forward to cooperate with us. This should be... There should be an agitation. Now this “In God we trust,” it is, it is something like vague idea. There is a need of... (aside:) You can make copy from there. If you bring one dozen like this, then it is difficult to walk. (about tape recorders) So our propaganda should be to the United, I mean to say, United States government and public. And you are theologicians. You should make program that simply saying that “In God we trust,” and we do all nonsense, which exhibits that we do not trust in God, this thing should be stopped. You have placed in your Constitution, there is, you trust in God. Now you should understand what is God and how to trust. That we are teaching. This should be taken very seriously. Because you cannot change your Constitution. Already there is that. But you must know it perfectly well what is God and how to trust Him. That science we are teaching, Kåñëa consciousness movement. The government should cooperate fully. There should be school, college, to understand what is God, how to trust. This movement should be started. What do you think?

 

Karandhara: Yes, Prabhupäda.

 

Prabhupäda: Yes. There are so many things. Actually, if the American nation take it seriously, “In God we trust,” ...They must take it seriously because it is Constitution. Then the whole world will change. The whole world will change. Not only that. The Americans... Just like they are always combatting with the Communists. Similarly, the American nation should be so strong that anyone godless, he should be fired. Any nation who does not believe in God, war declared. “Either you believe in God or come on. Fight. Come under us.” This should be the...

[Kulapavana]

but the reality makes you wake up...

 

our movement can barely keep itself from falling apart, let alone infuencing US crooked politicians to make them really God conscious.

 

"Now, the difficulty is they do not know actually what is God, how to trust."

 

yes, and that difficulty is still there.

 

"You are still pious, but you are misguided."

 

yes, pious people in Middle Ages acted like animals - killing and pillaging each other, and today they still do.

 

 

 

you cant just say: oh, it's a good idea, but the people are too fallen to take it up properly.

 

a truly good idea will take into consideration that people are fallen and still produce the desired result - maybe it won't be as grand, but it will be practical.

 

 

Srila Prabhupada had great faith in his disciples and mankind in general... I'm much less optimistic.

[AncientMariner]

Wow! Those are some great Prabhupada quotes. I remeber reading some Prabhupada quotes where he was talking about how Americans as a government should be prepared to close down slaughterhouses and kill people that use intoxicants if necessary. I can't seem to find the quotes however so I hope I am not misquoting him. Ideally it would be great if that happened but if a person were to actually do that you would be viewed by the public as a maniac.

 

I gotta admit though based on those quotes it appears that Prabhupada just might be in support of George Bush's crusade.

[AncientMariner]

A couple of months ago they had a guy on the coast to coast network that said the only way to really effectively win the war against terrorism would to have been drop a few nukes at least a day or two after 9-11, any later than a few days after and the opportunity passed to use this method. He felt the only way to really change these peoples mind set would be to shock the hell out them then install a benovelent dictator.

 

 

[theist]

But he emphasized that America should first learn to trust in God.

 

The world stage has become much smaller in the last several decades. It is unthinkable that there should be no ksatriyas on that stage. But they must be influenced by braminical teaching and not be a pawn for the vaisyas. The world should be kept safe for the spreading of Krsna conscious principles and not McDonalds corp.

[AncientMariner]

Good point. As far as America trusting God I can't really tell if it will happen anytime soon. Seems to me people are still pretty heavily into maya or at least where I live. Then again my credibility on the subject matter is about on the same level of credibility as testimony from Bill Clinton to a Federal Grand Jury.