Bush, Divider or Uniter? (4/27/2004)

When George W. Bush ran for president in 2000, he repeatedly promised two things: he would be a uniter, not a divider, and he would not do nation building. I thought he meant that he would unite our country, deeply polarized by persistent right-wing attacks on President Clinton, and that he would not entangle us in other countries' affairs. Certainly the September 11th terrorist attack wrought change, and brought Bush great political capital here and throughout the world. Americans and most people worldwide, horrified at the attack, united in opposing terrorists. They looked to President Bush for leadership.

But since then, Bush's policies have squandered much of that good will here and abroad. Our country is more polarized than ever, while world opinion is uniting against us. Many issues require public discourse--the war in Iraq, the causes and failures of the 911 attack, the Medicare legislation, ballooning budget deficits. Good people can, and should, have different opinions; differing opinions can open minds to new ideas and approaches and should be welcome; they can become a unifying force. Yet the Bush administration has attacked those who don't march in lockstep to his viewpoint, thus further polarizing the American electorate.

Overseas, Bush's policies have alienated more and more countries, which in turn have united AGAINST us. His plunging forward with a war in Iraq, despite neither support from our usual allies nor approval from the United Nations, has created worldwide criticism and doubts about Bush's motives. The Pew Research Center reports , "A year after the war in Iraq, discontent with America and its policies has intensified rather than diminished. Perceptions of American unilateralism remain widespread in European and Muslim nations, and the war in Iraq has undermined America's credibility abroad." Contrary to Bush's argument that America's coalition forces would grow, countries, such as Spain and Honduras, are pulling out, and others, such as Australia, will not send additional troops. Countries who sent humanitarian and construction workers to Iraq are pulling out.

Who has Bush united? The formerly warring Shiites and Sunnis have united-- AGAINST us! They are also attracting the support of several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran, against whom Iraq previously had waged a long and terrible war. In a horrible irony, Bush's war on Iraq has caused more terrorism worldwide and coalition of various terrorist organizations. Moktada al-Sadr, a Shiite cleric, said, "Let Hamas consider me their striking arm in Iraq. Because the fate of Iraq and Palestine is the same."

Bush told us we went to war in Iraq because Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that would soon be used to attack America. When it became clear that there were NO such weapons, the Bush war justification then became Iraq's liberation from Saddam Hussein-that our American forces were liberators, not an occupation force. Current events in Iraq demonstrate otherwise, as Iraqis, including members of their police and security forces, turn on American soldiers. Some of the Iraqi governing council members have quit; others have joined the criticism. Bush's answer is to 'stay the course" -whatever that is, and to turn over sovereignty by June 30th -to whomever that is. All we know, from his April 13th press conference, is that he has a plan to plan to tell us-whatever that means.

President Bush promised to be a uniter, not a divider, but he has gotten it backwards by uniting the wrong factions and further dividing Americans as he goes about his nation building quest to "change the world." Thus our country grows ever more polarized, more and more of the world turns against us, the Middle East has become more destabilized and terrorism grows.

- Judith Kohler

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