Fear, Anger And Failure

FEAR, ANGER AND FAILURE is a critical account of the war on terror and the events and forces influencing it or provoked by it, composed of newspaper columns dating from the afternoon of September 11, 2001, and ending in late December, 2003. These articles discuss American policy and personalities but also the dramatic change the Bush administration's conduct has produced in Washington s relations with its European allies. The Israeli-Palestinian struggle, crucial to American interests in the Middle East, was necessarily a part of these dynamics. The articles cover the lead up to the war and the political and economic directions the U.S. has taken since then, and discusses the geopolitical implications for Europe and the rest of the world.The defeat in Baghdad was implicitly acknowledged by President George W. Bush when he announced on November 14, 2003 that the process by which American Occupation authorities in Iraq would hand power over to Iraqi authorities would be accelerated, with a target date of June 2004. What has happened since then vindicates this interpretation.The dream promoted by Mr. Bush and his advisers was that a dramatic democratic transformation of Iraq could be accomplished, provoking quasi-revolutionary political change elsewhere in the Arab Moslem world, accelerating modernizing forces in Islamic society as a whole. Even before the capture of Saddam Hussein failed to improve the situation, this policy was proven to be what its critics had always said it was, a naïve, sentimental, a-historical and utopian illusion.Pfaff's columns provide insights into the shifting international dynamics and the reasons why Europeans - and many Americans - distrust what appears to be a newly aggressive American imperialism. He also discusses NATO and other institutions that we have relied upon to help craft a peaceful and cooperative future.After September 11, 2001, it was easy to forget the economic uncertainties of the preceding summer, the obvious flaws in the presidential election of 2000, and other brewing problems. But the weaknesses are still with us, and a crack-down on liberties may not be the best answer.