The End of "The Ugly American"

More than other peoples of the world, we have a right to celebrate the end of the rule of President George W. Bush, who, during his eight years in power, embodied the personality of the Ugly American, which was presented by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer in a novel of the same name. Published in 1958, it occupied the bestsellers list in the U.S. at its time.

The events of this political novel revolve around the failure of the American endeavor to stop the spread of communism in southeast Asia, a failure that resulted from arrogant U.S. policies and the self-importance of those who created them. Since the publication of the novel and the production of the film of the same name, the expression “Ugly American” has been used to denote American politicians’ lack of understanding of the rest of the world and different cultures.

Arabs and Muslims were burned by the fire of this administration and paid a heavy price for its senseless policies and bloody crimes in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and others. Although Bush’s successor may not bring the desired peace and stability to our troubled world, he will not follow in the footsteps of his predecessor, who was disowned by his own party after being abandoned by his people, earning him the title of the least popular president in U.S. history.

It is difficult to predict what policies the lame duck U.S. administration may present during the remainder of its time in the White House, except that the Bush administration is resorting to threatening the Iraq government with the withholding of support and protection, as it did not sign the draft of the security agreement quickly, demonstrating the tension of the White House at the prospect of a final failure in Iraq in the few weeks remaining for the current president.

The crude U.S. blackmail of the Iraqi government drops another fig leaf that was sheltering the Bush administration’s justification of its failed adventure in Iraq. Did Washington forget that it is negotiating with an elected and official government before the Iraqi Parliament and its people? Washington resorts to a policy of arm-twisting and imposing dictates, which epitomize America’s approach in dealing with its allies and friends throughout history.

May we ask today about Bush’s promises to make Iraq an example of democracy, freedom and sovereignty? Is there a way to convince the Iraqis that Washington’s threat does not mean the transformation of their country into a banana republic or in this situation or, in this case, an oil colony? Washington’s threat to Maliki’s government is to withdraw US forces from helping in “the defeat of enemies of Iraq”, to airlift, and to end construction projects. It refused to sign onto the security agreement after the bullying, arrogance, and threats to destroy the state and what was left of its institutions.

This threat, which impairs Iraq’s independence and sovereignty, reminds us of the dictates of twentieth century colonial powers and of their poisoned treaties, which were imposed on many African, Middle Eastern, and Latin American countries. The blame lies on the Americans, as they are foolishly obsessed with the study of their history and not much concerned with understanding other cultures.

When President Bush was asked whether he was concerned about how history would judge him, he responded crudely that history wants him dead. Today we are living a major shift in the structure of the strongest power in the world. We are aware that it is naive to hold high expectations for President Obama with respect to our issues. But the fact remains that the era of “The Ugly American” has passed and the world is sighing in relief. Nonetheless, the legacy of President of Bush will haunt us for years to come.