Dear
Mr. Bush, I Understand You
By Mirza A. Beg
20 April, 2006
Countercurrents.org
Dear Mr. Bush -
I know you do not
tolerate criticism, so this letter is written with understanding. The
mid term elections are around the corner. Some retired generals are
demanding Rumsfeld’s head. Predictably the Democrats have joined
in and even some Republicans, afraid of loosing their seats are peeling
the blinders off and flirting with disloyalty. As usual they ‘misunderestimate’
you.
They do not grasp that you
cannot fire your mentors like Cheney, Rumsfeld, Condi Rice and the Neo-con
coterie, or perhaps they do understand that it would knock off the props
from what they consider to be a Manchurian Presidency. Who else can
run the policies with greater vigor than the ones who instituted them
in your name?
You have the courage of their
convictions. You do not entertain silly, soul-searching, tortuous reasoning
that comes from studying history and analyzing contexts. It saps resolve
and creates anxiety. You are proud of strong single-minded leadership
with confidence rooted in cultivated ignorance.
Your mentors planned getting
rid of Saddam Hussein even before your election. The quick way to defeat
a regional bully is to be a world-class bully. You so enjoy that role.
It always works in the short run. Elections are not fought for the long-term.
The long-term consequences are for the historian nannies and the future
generations to handle.
People who eagerly swallowed
the lies in the service of “the cause” are complaining now.
You know better. Torture of prisoners, spying on Americans, deceit in
the service of “the cause” is justified and should be commended.
Those citing constitution do not appreciate the importance of lying
as the central tenet of an effective policy.
Unfortunately you have hit
a rough patch. The Congressional Republicans committing the sin of getting
caught in sleazy deals and the inept cover up of the utter fiasco in
response to Katrina does not help either.
People do not realize how
difficult it is to attend to silly problems. They even intrude in your
vacations. You are right to lay down strict rules not to be disturbed.
What are the mentors for? It worked for Reagan.
You resolutely destroyed
the Iraqi army and its civilian infrastructure. The best way is to start
with a clean slate and build a new country to the liking of your mentors.
But Iraqis are such ingrates. They not only do not appreciate it, they
have the temerity to ask for a democratic system suited to their historical,
ethnic and cultural needs. Time and again they have stymied the Quislings
you installed.
You have stayed the course
with tenacity and were able to scare the Iraqis, the Arabs and the world,
but master-stroke was scaring the Americans into re-electing you. Unfortunately
the Americans are also impetuous ingrates. They are not scared any more
and have started questioning your policies. Even the supine news media
has started asking rude questions, thus helping the enemy. Just freeze
them out, except sycophants like O’ Reillys and Hannitys populating
the Fox news, and please do not forget the loyalty of Judith Miller.
To keep Americans scared,
it is a good time to saber rattle against Iran. Your advisors brilliantly
kept Iran firmly planted as an enemy. The axis of evil gambit helped
defeat the moderating influence of President Khatami’s government.
With quagmire in Iraq, problems in Afghanistan, the failure in North
Korea, the Iranians came through when you needed a new enemy to demonize.
The Congress foolishly blocked
your efforts to develop tactical nuclear bunker buster bomb that violated
the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Threatening Iran for three years,
you skillfully succeeded in strengthening their resolve to start Uranium
enrichment. With your bluster you were able to convince Iranian Mullahs
that the only safety for them is to have nuclear weapons. It helps in
keeping Americans scared.
With the US power, the world
stands in awe of your ability to ignore reality and speak with ambidextrous
mouth. You have thrown the gauntlet for Iran to accept our meddling
to change their democratically elected government, as in the past. In
1941 we installed the young Shah, then overthrow Mosaddeq’s democracy
in 1953 and helped Saddam Hussein to wage an eight-year war on Iran,
using chemical weapons in the 1980s. It is good that Americans only
remember the hostage taking by Iran in 1979. It helps in brazenly threatening
Iran with invasion, including nuclear attack.
The courage of your mentors’
conviction helped you invade Iraq. The same courage is helping you carry
on, unmindful of the no-win situation. If Iran does not back down we
loose whatever credibility is left. If we attack Iran no one in the
world, except Israel would even pretend to be with us. But that is a
long-term problem. It will actually be advantageous in supplying more
terrorists for you and your successors to keep Americans scared for
a long time. There are people calling for caution. Do not listen to
them. It only weakens the resolve and saps your visceral energy.
The most important thing
is to keep Americans scared and plied with well placed lies. Lofty ideals
are for speeches, real politics works at the basest level. I am in awe
of your simplistic courage Mr. President. You may need to get this letter
translated, just ask any high school student; do not bother Cheney,
Rumsfeld or Rice.
Mirza A. Beg can be reached
at [email protected]