EDITORIAL

The United States at war with itself

American voters have a chance to show the Bush administration they won't be manipulated further

The greatest war that the United States is involved in today is being fought on its very own turf. The triumph or defeat of the world's greatest superpower in any conflict or war always makes for interesting news. On television political leaders exchange insults and sling mud for people who sit in their comfortable houses and judge the merits of war. In the real world, out there for everybody to see, US President George W Bush has the audacity to tell the American people over and over again that everything is fine and dandy in Iraq. The president says that a solution for an eventual peaceful withdrawal can be worked out, that Iraq will be made democratic. Never mind that since the 2003 occupation, 2,829 American soldiers have officially been confirmed dead in Iraq. The number of Iraqi people killed is a lot higher; over 200,000 depending on whose statistics one looks at. All have died as a result of the orders of the US president.

Whatever the total figure for the number of dead on both sides is, one thing is clear: the Iraq War has become like the Vietnam War syndrome. Increasingly, it will be harder fought in the political arena inside the United States, especially as the midterm election is upon us.

The midterm election can be a matter life and death for an American president. This time round, on Tuesday, the American electorate has a chance to prove that it is not stupid enough to be manipulated by the Bush administration's talk of a lack of security or terrorist attacks on American soil. But one will never know until the votes are all counted.

It is sad that politicians, regardless of nationality and boundaries, are willing to forego principles and morals just to win an election. In America, the world's "freest" country, hypocrisy is the name of the game. Bush is struggling hard to win back the loyalty of his conservative supporters who are fed up with the growing number of casualties in Iraq. Many see no way out of the Iraq debacle. Some polls are showing that the Democrats could win a majority in both Houses. This would be too optimistic a prediction because a last-minute voting swing can have a significant effect on American politics. If the Democrats do win, it would be a disaster for the war president. After all, George Bush's legacy will be built around the unfinished war in Iraq. In the United States, the media and Hollywood will add to the real war, making the whole debate and morality of war and American involvement more interesting, if not more maddening.

In the age of globalisation, Bush is considered an idiosyncratic leader who knows very little about the world and how nations and continents are interconnected with one another. He sees the United States as the world's sole do-gooder, a power that can promote democracy and destroy the evildoers. So far he has been able to say almost anything, any time, and get away with it. It reminds us all too clearly of the disposed autocrat Thaksin Shinawatra, who used to do and say lots of nonsensical things and get away with them scot-free. Soon, it will be payback time.

The latest internal quarrel in the United States is between George Bush and Senator John Kerry, who has urged American high-school students to study hard, otherwise they could end up in Iraq. It was indeed a keen observation about a fact of life in America. Students with top scores will certainly not join the army or the Reserve Officers Training Corps because they have far better and constructive things to do with their futures.

Fighting a war to defend American territory is one thing, to fight for American values is another. Worst of all is to fight a war in a foreign land that is still not sure whether it wants to, or even should, adopt American values. In Iraq, as in Vietnam during the Indochina War, there is no prospect of victory. Indeed, it is demoralising and a complete waste of resources in terms of money and human lives.

So the American voters have to wake up and overcome visual illusions or the feel-good factor created by political spin doctors that everything will work out fine and that peace in Iraq will soon prevail and America will once more be loved again. After all, the whole world has been watching Hollywood movies for years.

The Nation