Saturday, October 11, 2008

Zero-sum thinking still


In the second of a four-part review of what comes after Bush, Azmi Bishara laments that the trope of "good versus evil" in US political culture will prevail for some time to come

By Azmi Bishara
Al-Ahram Weekly

"......For a brief period, conservatives and liberals were of one mind over their goals and the instruments to achieve them. These led to a string of disasters that, in turn, drove the two camps apart amidst a torrent of mutual recriminations. The collapse of the state in Iraq, the rise of the Iraqi resistance, regional and international revulsion at the consequences of American-led aggression, the failure of the so-called war against terrorism, the failure of the American war against the Lebanese resistance using Israeli instruments, severely eroded the US's international prestige and drove a wedge through American society. It was a necessity that forced Washington to change its policies, not an awakening of conscience. In like manner, it was political expedience that compelled the liberals to disassociate themselves from the neocons. From here it was a short road to the end of the phase of international and domestic tolerance of America's post-11 September delirium. All of which occurred before the Georgia experience and the resurgence of Russian nationalist policy......."

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