America's hegemony dream becomes nightmare

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America's hegemony dream becomes nightmare
September 17, 2003

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The high-water mark for Washington's neo-cons may already have passed, writes Scott Burchill.

If events in Iraq continue on their present trajectory, the window of opportunity that neo-conservatives in Washington seized after the September 11 attacks will soon close.

The two-year window - which enabled Washington and its loyal allies to invade two countries and dispatch both governments (Afghanistan, Iraq), reconfigure US strategic doctrine from deterrence to pre-emption, ratchet up pressure on "rogue states" and "evil" regimes (Iran, North Korea, Syria), and declare war on terrorism - is closing for two reasons.

First, on the ground in occupied Iraq, Washington is slowly realising the limits of its power. For all its technological sophistication and military superiority, the Bush Administration is learning a painful lesson about the historical fate of colonialists in the Middle East.

Second, with opinion polls turning and George Bush putting his mind to the campaign for the presidential election in November next year, it is highly unlikely he will risk opening a new front in the "war against terrorism".

Things have not gone according to plan for the neo-cons and their colleagues.

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The neo-cons and their political masters attacked the UN for not following orders, so it became a "behemoth", "meaningless and weak", and without "credibility". Now the same people are asking the same organisation, which they claimed was "irrelevant", to bail them out of trouble in Iraq because no other state is prepared to send in occupying troops under the present arrangements. It's a humiliating U-turn.

Military victories create, rather than solve, political problems. What must have seemed like a gift to the global ambitions of the neo-conservatives in Washingtontwo years ago has now been reduced to a striking paradox: the United States has never been more powerful around the world, but Americans have never felt less secure.



http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/09/16/1063625030945.html

Problem is, and buchanan described them to a T, is where are they
going to move next in order to achieve their goals, the leeches
that they are.