In twenty-five words or less, this book says President George Bush's "liberation" of Iraq is remarkably similar to President McKinley's "liberation" of the Philippines more than a century ago.
So, what do Filipinos think of Bush? According to the Sept. 6, 2004, edition of The Financial Times of London, Filipinos gave Bush the biggest margin in any of the 35 countries surveyed by GlobeScan, in conjunction with the University of Maryland. The poll says 57 percent of Filipinos support Bush, compared to 32 percent for Sen. John Kerry. This isn't recent bubble of popularity; in 2002, a survey by a Manila-based polling group, Pulse Asia, found that Bush enjoyed a 56 percent trust rating -- much higher than the president of the Philippines.
Judis, one of the most perceptive and knowledgable writers in America, uses all the history that fits to argue that "through international organizations and treaties, the United States would keep the peace and promote prosperity much more effectively than it could accomplish acting alone." He doesn't ask what will happen if others use his recommended techniques against America.
He cites the experience of presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush to argue "Until the 1890s, the United States had adhered to George Washington and Thomas Jefferson's advice to stay out of 'foreign entanglements'." Of course, this ignores US invasions of Canada in 1775/76, 1812/14, and major threats in 1846 and 1865/67 which produced the Confederation of Canada, up to this century and the victimization of Canada by seizing lands in the Alaska Boundary dispute. It also overlooks the Monroe Doctrine, which in effect made the Caribbean "an American lake" and all of the Americas into a US colony.
"Bush was ignorant" Judis argues, saying his "religious beliefs seem to have grown out of a sense of personal redemption from sin -- in his case, alcoholism . . . . " After Sept. 11, 2001, he says US foreign policy was shaped by neoconservatives such as Irving Kristol and Wohlstetter who were both Trotskyists (i.e. communists) and former socialists who had undergone a sudden and complete transformation of faith similar to what Bush experienced.
True! True! True! He cites facts again and again and again. Only the uncurious and ignorant can dispute his facts. His conclusion addresses everyone who cares very deeply about the future, "When America goes out alone in search of monsters to destroy -- venturing on terrain upon which imperial powers have already trod -- it can itself become the monster."
This isn't a political book that will die with the election results, no matter who wins. The lessons Judis cites will live with us for decades, regardless of who is elected and whatever decisions are made. Maybe, in a century, 57 percent of Iraqis will think Bush was right. The real issue is the blood, treasure, toil, suffering and misery to get to that happy conclusion.
Judis says there are much better techniques than shooting first and letting Allah sort out the good guys. This book is for the years ahead. The election of 2004 is a mere speed bump on the road of history. The future may be a smooth highway, or a rutted mass of potholes and quagmires, depending on what voters decide.
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