America Shrugged

Many politicians have come into office inspired by great books, great deeds, a commitment to public service, or a vision of a better tomorrow. With this Administration's disdain for foreign relations, Rumsfeld's criticism of "Old Europe", and now the desire to start building new improved nuclear weapons in violation of established arms treaties, we have to ask: what is it that has inspired the George W. Bush Administration to take these bold steps? On what new road have they taken us that we may obtain the fulfillment of our Manifest Destiny?

Michael Tomasky, over at Altercation, submits that is is based on a document called the Defense Planning Guidance written back in the spring of 1992.

The document described for the first time the Cheneyite vision for America’s role in the post-Cold War world. It spelled out a policy toward the rest of the world, even our allies, that was far more unilateral and belligerent than anything that any postwar American president, Ronald Reagan included, had ever envisioned.

It said that the United States had to be, as Colin Powell put it at the time, “the bully on the block.” This meant that other nations would have to understand that it’s our world, they’re just living in it; no other superpower could even think about emerging; collective action was rejected (NATO won a partial exemption here, but only partial) in favor of “ad hoc assemblies, often not lasting beyond the crisis being confronted”; preventive military action would prove necessary, somewhere, just to make the point that it was our prerogative to do so (the DPG mentioned Poland, Lithuania, the Philippines, North Korea, and Iraq); and more. The writing of the document was overseen by Paul Wolfowitz.

Evidence suggests that the guiding philosophy goes back much further; all the way back in the spring of 1972 during the Nixon Administration. A mere few months before the infamous Watergate break-in, an obscure Californian penned a treatise contained in a folio entitled "Sail Away" that suggested a bold vision of a dominant America astride the planet and brooking no dissent. Daring, yet succinct, it has provided a roadmap for the men of this administration who were just coming of age at the time of its publication.

Published under the title "Political Science", we can see how captivating its siren call must be to these strong-willed and passionately focused men we call "our leaders":

*****

No one likes us
I don't know why.
We may not be perfect
But heaven knows we try.
But all around even our old friends put us down.
Let's drop the big one and see what happens.

We give them money
But are they grateful?
No they're spiteful
And they're hateful.
They don't respect us so let's surprise them;
We'll drop the big one and pulverize them.

Now Asia's crowded
And Europe's too old.
Africa's far too hot,
And Canada's too cold.
And South America stole our name.
Let's drop the big one; there'll be no one left to blame us.

Bridge:
We'll save Australia;
Don't wanna hurt no kangaroo.
We'll build an all-American amusement park there;
They've got surfing, too.

Well, boom goes London,
And boom Paris.
More room for you
And more room for me.
And every city the whole world round
Will just be another American town.
Oh, how peaceful it'll be;
We'll set everybody free;
You'll have Japanese kimonos, baby,
There'll be Italian shoes for me.
They all hate us anyhow,
So let's drop the big one now.
Let's drop the big one now.