The Crusade for God and Global Conquest —RW/OR
ONLINE
Bush’s Messianic Madness
The Crusade for God and Global Conquest
Revolutionary Worker #1266, January
30, 2005, posted at rwor.org
“America, in this young century, proclaims liberty
throughout all the world, and to all the inhabitants
thereof.”
—George W. Bush, second
inaugural speech
“You think you know...but you have no idea...just what
Bush has in store for...you...us...the world...our
future!”
—Opening lines of the
RCP’s statement
"The Battle for the Future Will Be Fought from Here
Forward!"
George W. Bush swaggered to the podium of his inauguration and
said he would put before "every ruler and every nation" a
choice over whether to embrace his vision of "freedom."
(Kinda like how the Godfather makes you an "offer you
can’t refuse.")
And he said he was proclaiming the "calling of our
times"—which means (quite literally!) that Bush believes
his god has spoken to him and has assigned the U.S. and its soldiers
a divine mission. It was a vision of a global American crusade.
And we use this word "crusade" quite literally. The last
time Christian fundamentalists ruled, it was called the Dark Ages.
The theocratic leaders of those times announced
"crusades"—wars under the sign of the cross to
conquer the strategic crossroads of their world. The Crusaders
invaded the Middle East in eight waves from 1095 until 1270.
In Bush’s call for this modern-day crusade, a Christian
messianic madness has been fused with calculated geopolitics of U.S.
capitalism.
On one hand, Bush’s speech was studded with well-known
fundamentalist codewords about imposing absolutist Christian dictates
upon a rebellious and sinful world. And at the same time, Bush laid
out the classic "neo- conservative" vision of forcibly
remaking the whole world under U.S. domination—all in the name
of "ending tyranny."
This inauguration speech made almost no mention of specific
policies, proposals, or legislation. This was not about governmental
"business as usual."
The arrogance, wild ambition, and unrestrained aggression of this
manifesto were chilling—especially because it was proclaimed
from the very heights of U.S. power, with all the military force of
this empire at its disposal.
Sham Mandate and Global License
"The U.S. has long committed monstrous crimes around the
world...and NOW THEY PLAN TO GO FURTHER. The imperialists in
power—all of them, with Bush at the core—want total
global empire."
—from
"The Battle for the Future..."
Before being sworn in, Bush said the recent presidential election
had been an "accountability moment" for his conquest of
Iraq. He said the people of the U.S. had given their approval.
This is, quite simply, untrue. There was no way, within that whole
rigged election process, that millions and millions of people could
express their dis-approval of that criminal war. At every
point, people have fought to question, expose and oppose this
criminal war and Bush’s whole agenda — including at the
Republican National Convention, and now this last week in Washington,
DC on Inauguration Day.
And then, on Inauguration Day, it stood out that Bush didn’t
even mention Iraq once in his address. His ambitions on
this day focused on the whole world , on
every country. And the implication was clear: This U.S.
government fully intends to use its unchallenged military power. Bush
did not intend to be bogged down by opposition from the people of
Iraq, or even acknowledge that it exists. He intends to roll over
any obstacles in Iraq —and is already looking toward
other countries to target and bully.
This speech gave a whole new rationale for the U.S. intervention.
In fact, Bush did not even mention a "war on
terrorism"!!
After 9/11, this White House ruthlessly exploited September 11.
Huge military attacks and deployments were carried out in the name of
punishing "terrorists and those who shelter terrorists."
The U.S. government invaded Afghanistan and then Iraq, set up over a
dozen new military bases, expanded a network of torture centers
around the world, bullied smaller countries to bow before them, and
mobilized the "homeland" for permanent war.
But, quickly, White House ambitions outgrew that
"anti-terrorist" justification. After all, Iraq had no
connection to 9/11 or al-Qaida. And so the White House announced
their Bush Doctrine, which said the U.S. president could order
invasions anywhere on the planet based simply on the belief
that potential threats might emerge.
Now suddenly the justification has shifted, once again: Bush says
he intends to level threats at any government or country that opposes
his messianic vision of "freedom."
This is supposed to be inspiring. Bush specifically appealed to
"our youngest citizens" and called on them to "serve
in a cause larger than your wants." In a capitalist world that
reeks of empty consumerism, he is promoting Christian messianic
visions to recruit youth to kill for his filthy cause.
Perverse Vision of "Freedom"
War is Peace
Freedom is Slavery
Ignorance is Strength
—Banner on the Ministry of Truth
in George Orwell’s novel 1984
"Don’t talk to me about freedom and democracy until
you ask and answer the most basic question: freedom for whom to do
what? Freedom for the exploited to rise up and get rid of
exploitation—or—freedom for the
exploiters to keep us down, dictate to us, keep us in our place,
suck our blood, and literaly murder us? It’s one way or the
other."
—Bob Avakian, Chairman of the
RCP, USA
Bush said "free" or "freedom" 34 times and
"liberty" 12 times in his recent speech. Let’s just
take a moment to contemplate the world-class hypocrisy and cynicism
of that!
This is a man, and a political movement, who rose to power in 2000
by stealing a presidential election—and fought to hold
onto power last year by suppressing the Black vote. And he wants to
dictate to the world about "freedom"?!
This president embraces an absolutist worldview where the rights
of people are limited to whatever "god" supposedly wants.
And (since there are no gods!) this means that we are
supposed to submit to those repulsive values and norms that these
Christian fascists want to impose on us. And then Bush wants
to preach to the whole world about "freedom." Just think
for a moment about what that word "freedom" means in his
twisted world outlook!
This is a man who rushed the executions of Texas, who holds
prisoners without charges or trial, who wants to write anti-gay
bigotry into the Constitution, and who is about to press for the
reversal of women’s reproductive choice—and he dares to
preach to the world about "liberty"!
When this George W. Bush babbles to his faithful about
"ending tyranny"—the minds of hundreds of millions of
people fill with painful images from Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo,
and the rubble of Fallujah.
In Afghanistan, the corporate toad Karzai was picked by the U.S.,
approved by feudal warlords, propped up by U.S. commandos, and
rubber-stamped by a sham election. In Iraq, the U.S. policy has been
"Invade, seize the country’s wealth, elevate some
collaborators, kill the opposition, and stage a vote."
What kind of freedom or liberty is any of that?!
Bush’s vision of freedom does not include the right of
oppressed peoples to self-determination or to break the vampire grip
of international capitalism.
No, in this Orwellian shadow world, "freedom" means
(above all) free enterprise —a global order where a capitalist
U.S. imperialism would prosper, and the people of the world would
sink deeper into desperation and misery.
Unveiling New Hit Lists
After Bush’s speech, there were groans from liberal
Democratic circles and the foreign policy establishment. They raised
questions about how this denunciation of "tyranny" will
influence U.S. alliances with the theocracy of Saudi Arabia, or the
pro-U.S. dictatorships in Egypt and Pakistan, or future relations
with China. They complained that Bush had rejected global
"realpolitik" in favor of high-flown "idealist"
rhetoric. ( Realpolitik refers to an amoral and
instrumentalist approach to policies, done in the name of
realism.)
First of all, it is outrageous (and exposing) that anyone would
portray Bush’s fanatical and aggressive hallucinations as
"idealistic." And with such arguments, the liberal
Democratic establishment revealed, once again, that their
"opposition" to Bush is often little more than an appeal
for more nuance, diplomacy, and caution in pursuing world
domination.
On another level, such critiques miss that this global crusade is
quite serious and is filled with its own strains of
down-in-the-gutter imperialist realpolitik .
While Bush was talking about of imposing "choices" on
governments, his new Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice openly
fingered various countries as "Outposts of Tyranny." It was
essentially a new hit list that expanded on Bush’s previous
"Axis of Evil"—and which pointedly now includes Cuba
as a target.
Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney openly announced that Iran
was the next target on the president’s list, and he suggested
Israel might launch a pre-emptive strike against key Iranian
installations. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has exposed a
wide range of new U.S. covert operations and plans for attacking Iran
and a whole list of other targeted countries. ( New Yorker ,
Jan. 24, 2005).
In other words, even before Bush’s speech had ended,
millions of people around the world were getting the message that
they are in the crosshairs of this U.S. crusade.
Chilling Symbolisms
This speech barely touched on domestic matters. Everyone was told
that these will be taken up in Bush’s February 2nd State of the
Union speech.
But everyone knows that huge offensives are being readied in the
"homeland" too. The Supreme Court is going to be recast,
and new assaults will be launched on previous legal
norms—including women’s right to choice and the right of
people to privacy and protection from police. Social Security is on
the chopping block. And beyond those highly visible issues,
preparations are being made for extreme leaps in the very way the
U.S. society and government function.
Over and over in the inauguration ceremonies, there were symbolic
messages about how unapologetically reactionary the forces in power
are.
Just two examples:
Mississippi Senator Trent Lott was disgraced some time ago for
openly proclaiming his nostalgia for the raw white supremacy of Jim
Crow segregation. This inauguration was used as a means to
deliberately rehabilitate this racist dog—he was assigned to be
the main organizer and public master of ceremonies.
Meanwhile the inauguration ceremonies included (for the first
time at a public state function) the singing of a militant Christian
fascist anthem written by Attorney General John Ashcroft, which
includes the undisguised call for a Christian theocracy: "Let
the eagle soar, Like she’s never soared before... As the land
beneath her sings: Only god, no other kings!"
******
Inauguration Day put this government’s global vision and
reactionary values on center stage—in many ways more
shamelessly and stridently than ever before. There is no sign here of
"the moderation of a second term." Groundwork is being laid
for new crimes and new leaps in their extremism.
These monsters are serious. Their vision amounts to nothing less
than a new high-tech, capitalist Dark Ages for the planet —
where their backward-looking fundamentalist values, their Almighty
Dollar and their bullying military power would literally define the
future.
The outcome of coming conflicts can determine the future of
humanity for decades and generations to come.
The recent RCP statement, "The Battle for the Future Will Be
Fought from Here Forward!" ends with these words:
"Let us put it to YOU: if you’ve been agonizing about
the future, if you nodded your head as you read this statement,
then... what are YOU gonna do? Are YOU going to be one of thousands
who come together now and help create the force that can lead
millions against this madness, when millions are ready to be led?
Will you help create and bring onto the stage a revolutionary
people? Are you ready to check out this Party and this leader? Will
you bring your ideas, your creativity, your questions and yes, your
disagreements to us, and help figure out how we can rise to the
occasion? Are YOU ready to make a real difference—to not only
spread the word of resistance and revolution, but make that a real
alternative in society?" (rwor.org/future)
This article is posted in English and Spanish on Revolutionary
Worker Online
http://rwor.org
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