Democracy yes, oil rape no

[Hawkeye-X]

By Sean Cronin, Editor in Chief
September 3, 2003
(University of Colorado - Denver student paper)

I have always truly respected those who can cling tightly to a faith in something for which there is no discernable support. That takes guts. What takes no courage is to defend your position simply calling your opponent a conspiracy theorist. Much like calling someone a communist, an anarchist, or baby killer, calling someone a conspiracy theorist immediately kills his or her credibility. So, please consider the following an open letter to anyone who has recently used terms like "blame-America-firster" to prevent themselves from having a meaningful political dialogue with anyone.

Dear proponent of the New American Century,

Though you may not know, the foriegn policy which you ascribe was actually invented and drafted into a public policy initiative well over 11 years ago. At that time, Assistant Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz began arguing that Cold War had left us the only superpower in the world and -- since might obviously make right -- it was now our turn to police the globe and ensure the American model of democracy reigned supreme around the globe. Iraq is mentioned specifically as a direct threat to American interests and global security. There is no belief in backroom conspiracy here; it is all out in the open and you can read Wolfowitz's draft of this foreign policy directive online at the PBS Frontline web site attached to the documentary entitled The War Behind Closed Doors (Feb 2, 2003).

In 1997, Wolfowitz and a handful of other Neocons formed the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). The main philosophy behind PNAC was similar, however this time these incredibly insightful men and women decided that American foreign policy was adrift and needed and actionable set of policy initiatives to bring American-style democracy to these regions of the world oppressed by authoritarian leadership. More specifically -- in countless, highly influental letters to the editors as well as in their statement of purpose -- PNAC members argued that American interests are to be protected abroad at any cost. Again, Iraq and the other Axis of Evil countries are discussed in great detail, and the policies have come into fruition.

In checking the PNAC website (www.newamericancentury.org) and this belief that the responsibility of global security belongs to American policy makers alone, you can clearly see that the members of this administration were incredibly forward-thinking in their attitudes towards Iraq, Iran, Syria, and North Korea. That is to say Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, and Donald Rumsfield were staunch advocates of armed conflict with Iraq, long before the war on terrorism ever started. Their beliefs are spelled out as early 1997 in their own, signed words so it does not take the distorted and wacky beliefs of a conspiracy theorist to find proof that the people in power right now believed in armed conflict and regime change long before the horrific atrocity of September 11.

Not only it is impossible to argue that members of the current administration have misled the public when citing the post-9/11 war on terrorism as the sole purpose behind the present war in Iraq -- and this war is far from over -- it is also impossible to argue that removing Saddam Hussein by force was an option. It is also impossible to argue against PNAC's belief that democracy needs to be imposed on certain nations for reason of global security.

If you look at German and Japanese models, imposed democracy can work to benefit global security and the global economy. And, in looking at the same models, it is important to recognize the importance of countries develop their own economic independence. So, in looking at these two examples, I would like to suggest an alternative to the current Bush Doctrine.

There are areas of the globe where political and economy instability could lead to the bloody downfull of many. No two democracies have gone to war with each other, and for that reason I belief it is necessary to incite or even impose democratic systems around the world.

However, this administration has the absolute worst plan to that end. The simple fact that the 'A' in PNAC stands for American,says it all. What we need is a complete revision of that belief. What wwe need is an actionable plan for a New Democratic Century -- one where protecting global interests, global security, and the increase of quality of life for every human on the planet is the top priority.

I agree that the Cold War left us the only superpower with that great power comes great responsibility. But the current model of using that power to secure American corporate interests abroad will only write this administration in history texts as self-interested global bullies.

Love Sean

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Great editorial. Best I've ever seen on campus