American Neo Conservatism and the World Order Essay

American Neo Conservatism and the World Order - Essay Example American Neo Conservatism and the World Order Backed by an American nuclear arsenal and war machine, Bush tossed the words "freedom" and "democracy" about, making them sound like cheap and meaningless words. Taking advantage of the fact that Americans were distracted with the aftermath of September 11, Bush addressed the world saying, "Since America's emergence as a world power roughly a century ago, we have made many errors, but we have been the greatest force for good among the nations of the earth. A diminution of American power or influence bodes ill for our country, our friends, and our principles." Later, the question would be asked whether or not the terrorists behind the events of September 11 had awakened a sleeping giant,1 or whether the giant had in fact been waiting in the wings waiting for his cue to come on stage. When George Bush made his announcement to Americans that they would respond to the events of 9/11 with an armed assault against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan, he did not share with his fellow Americans that already talk had been going on in the White House of a plan to invade Iraq. In November, 2001, ". . . Bush asked his defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, to revise the U.S. war plan for Iraq and publicly called for the return of UN arms inspectors to the country.† While a response of moving militarily against Afghanistan as the threshold of operations for the terrorists who had attacked the United States on September 11, 2001 went unquestioned by most Americans.; neo conservative plans of pre-emptive defense tactics against Iraq left many Americans scratching their heads in contemplation of the rhetoric coming out of the White House. It was the notion of a "pre-emptive" strike against a perceived threat to America that caused many, amongst them Democrats, who had pr eviously supported the administration in its response to the 9/11 terrorists in Afghanistan to now jump off the band wagon and put enough distance between themselves and the Bush administration so as to regain perspective of what actions were going on that were clearly being driven the neo conservatives who gained momentum following the events of 9/11. Amongst those who attempted to distance themselves from the Bush administration during the talk of pre-emptive invasion of Iraq period, were world leaders, some of whom seemed taken aback by Bush's pre-emptive rhetoric. "Our closest allies have spoken out against an invasion of Iraq. Gerhard Schroder, leading a usually complaisant Germany but locked in a tough re-election fight, has gone so far as to label this possibility an "'adventure,'" sparking a protest from our ambassador (Galston 2002, 1)." Bush administration officials were accused of ignoring and disregarding the thoughts of those world leaders with whom the United States had close ties (1). The idea of a long term military engagement in the Middle East gave rise to concerns that America was embarking on yet another disastrous course of military occupation and conflict, just as they had during the Viet Nam era; provoking comment from former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger (1). Kissinger weighed in saying, "Regime chang e as a goal for military intervention challenges the