Bush, Remembrance and Shame
Published in El Pais
(Spain) on 14 November 2010
by Abel Veiga Copo (link to original)
(Spain) on 14 November 2010
by Abel Veiga Copo (link to original)
Translated from
by Arie Braizblot.
Edited by Sam Carter.
The former American president just published a memoir that looks to cleanse his image and possibly redeem him. We don’t know if he wrote them or if he had them written for him. But they do suffer from poor logic, reason and dignity.
The fact that Bush would say that he disagreed with his government about the war in Iraq and that he continues to endorse terrorism paints a portrait of him. He was one of the presidents most manipulated by political hawks and economic sharks. He reduced the prestige of the United States, eliminated the initial multilateralism and broke all international law through pressure, blackmail and deception. Saddam was, without a doubt, a ruler and a tyrant, but not worse than many others who have been and continue to be protected by Washington and other foreign ministries.
Under Bush’s presidency, the United States lived through one of its darkest periods, one of its own inexorable decline.
In 2003, the thought process of neoconservatives was set up in Washington with a clear agenda: to revitalize the old American empire and lay the groundwork to dominate the 21st century. Along those lines, the launch of the Iraq war, in March of 2003, was named Operation Shock and Awe. The victory was easy; the worst would come later, when it was revealed that the U.S. was not prepared for the aftermath of the war.
Not even the United Nations, silenced by the Bush administration, disputed the legality of the war in Iraq. The diplomacy of interests and the interests of diplomacy functioned perfectly. The U.S. pressured the Security Council to win votes and avoid the veto. On Feb. 5, 2003, one of the most shameful displays in the history of the United Nations took place, with Powell and De Palacio demonstrating supposed evidence and delivering aggressive speeches. As years passed, they blamed their intelligence services for the lies about weapons of mass destruction. Little do they care about the thousands of dead in Iraq, the torture, the secret prisons, the humiliations or Abu Ghraib. It was an illegal and immoral war. That is what is forgotten.
The fact that Bush would say that he disagreed with his government about the war in Iraq and that he continues to endorse terrorism paints a portrait of him. He was one of the presidents most manipulated by political hawks and economic sharks. He reduced the prestige of the United States, eliminated the initial multilateralism and broke all international law through pressure, blackmail and deception. Saddam was, without a doubt, a ruler and a tyrant, but not worse than many others who have been and continue to be protected by Washington and other foreign ministries.
Under Bush’s presidency, the United States lived through one of its darkest periods, one of its own inexorable decline.
In 2003, the thought process of neoconservatives was set up in Washington with a clear agenda: to revitalize the old American empire and lay the groundwork to dominate the 21st century. Along those lines, the launch of the Iraq war, in March of 2003, was named Operation Shock and Awe. The victory was easy; the worst would come later, when it was revealed that the U.S. was not prepared for the aftermath of the war.
Not even the United Nations, silenced by the Bush administration, disputed the legality of the war in Iraq. The diplomacy of interests and the interests of diplomacy functioned perfectly. The U.S. pressured the Security Council to win votes and avoid the veto. On Feb. 5, 2003, one of the most shameful displays in the history of the United Nations took place, with Powell and De Palacio demonstrating supposed evidence and delivering aggressive speeches. As years passed, they blamed their intelligence services for the lies about weapons of mass destruction. Little do they care about the thousands of dead in Iraq, the torture, the secret prisons, the humiliations or Abu Ghraib. It was an illegal and immoral war. That is what is forgotten.
Next article![]( "The World after the Dollar")
