MAGSAYSAY WINNER AND JOURNALIST P SAINATH CLEARLY CALLS ANY IDEA THAT SUGGESTS LEGITIMISING BRIBERY `AN OBSCENE ONE’. “BRIBERY IS SYSTEMIC. TO ASK A PEOPLE BURDENED WITH IT TO ACCEPT BRIBE-GIVING AS LEGAL IS TO DEMAND THEY ACCEPT BOTH CORRUPTION AND THE EXISTING STRUCTURES OF POWER AND INEQUITY IT FLOWS FROM. THIS IS A PERVERSE IDEA,” HE HAS WRITTEN IN AN EDITORIAL COUNTRIES LIKE MALAYSIA REMAIN POOR BECAUSE THEIR PEOPLE AND SYSTEMS ARE TRAPPED IN CORRUPTION?.UMNO-BARISAN MEDIA IS OBSESSED WITH SEX SCAMS. “THE PEOPLE ARE JUST FED UP OF SEEING THE NEWS O F SEX SCAMS AND A MALAISE THAT IS PROJECTED TO PERVADE OUR SOCIETY. THEY SEEM TO BELIEVE IN TRIAL BY MEDIA AND LIVE BY THE DICTUM OF ‘GUILTY TILL PROVEN INNOCENT”,
Muhyiddin Yassin is at best of mentri besar quality, but unfortunately because of the dysfunctional system of Umno’s president and deputy president being given the number one and number two leadership posts in Malaysia, Muhyiddin is one position away from being the PM.
His handling of the National Feedlot Corporation scandal has been ridiculous and shifty. From the beginning he has tried to shift the responsibility of explaining the project to Noh Omar and others but he was the man who helmed the Agriculture Ministry which promoted and endorsed this project!!!
Today, he is quoted as saying that he leaves it to the public to accept or reject the explanation put forward by Mohamed Salleh of the National Feedlot Corporation but quickly says that as far as the government is concerned, these are all stories created by the Opposition.
Really? But the failure of the feedlot project was highlighted by the Auditor General, not Anwar Ibrahim or Lim Kit Siang.
And the last time I checked, it was Mohamed Salleh and family who bought that plush condominium in Bangsar.
In addition, it was not Anwar or Nik Aziz who paid RM26,000 to cover the expenses of their spouses but rather the NFC which paid the expenses of Shahrizat Jalil, the Cabinet minister.
The sad fact is that Muhyiddin has stopped representing the people and has abdicated his role as guardian of public finances.
He can’t even acknowledge wrongdoing and mismanagement when it stares him in the face.
After almost one month of inexplicable silence, National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd (NFC), which is the target of brick-bat and centre of swirling controversy both inside and outside Parliament, finally broke its silence.
Mohamad Salleh Ismail, chairman of NFC and husband of Women, Family and Community Developmet Minister Shahrizat Jalil, gave a press conference on November 17 to defend NFC. He said everything was dandy; the project was right on target, and there was no impropriety.
But the facts given by him are far from convincing. In fact, they are merely cover-ups for a botched job, in line with a series of stubborn denials advanced by BN leaders before him.
Before we go into the main subject, let me touch on two side issues.
First, Salleh’s press conference was an exclusive event that admitted six media that consisted of only the Malay press and TV channels. All others, including all the Chinese press were barred from the press meet. If NFC is sincere in telling the truth, why should it be fearful of journalists other than those from the BN-controlled media, which are generally regarded as BN’s propaganda instruments? Isn’t it obvious that NFC has no confidence to take on questions from reporters who are not under the tight control of BN? Isn’t it obvious that BN wanted to ensure that what the public read is what BN wanted them to read?
Condo purchase excuse unacceptable
Second, Salleh wanted us to believe that his purchase of two luxurious condominiums at RM14 million was a legitimate deployment of the government soft loan by telling us that these condos fetch fantastic returns. He said monthly rental for one condo is RM70,000, which no one seems to have believed. Credibility aside, who does Salleh think he is that the public wouldn’t mind lending his family a long term loan at two per cent interest for them to earn returns (exorbitant or not) from real estate investment?
The excuse that it was only a temporary investment for surplus cash that could only be utilised later for the project is unacceptable, as NFC shouldn’t have requested and the government shouldn’t have granted the disbursement of such large amount of idle cash from the Special Loan Account in the first place, the disbursement from which were supposed to be under the strict scrutiny and control of both the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture. Or, is NFC telling us that no projected cash flow and projected profit and loss account for the project had been presented prior to the government awarding this contract to NFC?
That such misuse of funds has occurred indicates that the government has failed to safeguard public funds, or even worse, criminal conflict of interest (known as corruption) for awarding a contract to a crony without proper basis, if there was no proper project paper considered sufficient to justify such an award.
Now, let us look at the facts presented by Salleh to support his claim that this project is doing well.
Project ‘success’ an illusion
Salleh said this is only the third year of its operation, and teething problems are expected. Wrong. His own son, Wan Shahinur Izran, the then CEO, said during the signing ceremony for the RM250 million facilities on December 6, 20027 that “operations are scheduled to begin in February next year”. So, four years have lapsed since then.
Salleh said his company had “raised” 8,016 head of cattle in 2010, “surpassing its target of 8,000 head of cattle”. Wrong. The criterion should be the number of cattle slaughtered, not “raised”, as this is a beef supply project. The number of cattle in the feedlot cannot be the measure of production, otherwise, large numbers of freshly arrived cattle from overseas could be counted as “production”. So, the Auditor General was right in his report that the 3,289 head of cattle slaughtered in 2010 constituted 41 per cent of the scaled down target of 8,000. The original target was 60,000 per year as announced by CEO Wan Shahinur Izran during the loan signing ceremony.
Salleh further said that “at the outset of operation in 2009, NFC had yet to find the market while abattoir was only approved in April that year, halal certification two months later and the Veterinary Health Mark, which was compulsory before meat could be sold, in 2010.”
Salleh also added that NFC needed to send its employees for training to acquire specific skills to run the operation.
These words from Salleh seem to be those uttered by a novice in this field who is appealing for understanding for his faltering performance. They stand in stark contrast to the stirring speech by CEO Izran back then in 2007 when he said: “We intend to play an instrumental role to lead, structure and transform the industry to meet 40 per cent self-sufficiency”.
Izran further said the company’s activities will “include cattle feedlotting and fodder production through contract and satellite farming, slaughtering, processing, marketing, and other upstream and downstream activities.”
As for contract farming, NFC would “assist the selected parties in getting financing, provide start-up and follow-up training in production and business administration as well as supply feeder cattle, feed materials and veterinary services”.
In fact all these activities are also found in NFC’s website as its scope of activities.
Ineptitude confirmed
It is apparent that there is a huge gap between rhetoric and realities in the NFC adventure.
Salleh said NFC only started operation in 2009. But why not in 2008 since it was already granted a huge loan earlier? (Incidentally, was the company operating completely on the soft loan without significant equity input from its shareholders? If so, this would be another anomaly that would pile on the case of criminal impropriety in awarding the contract to the recipient.)
Salleh indicated that market demand had been a constraint that caused its slow pick up even in 2010, but how could that be when the country has been importing 80 per cent of its beef from overseas? Such complaint only reveals the lack of wherewithal to run a business.
As for the slow procurement of approval for this and that, these are lame excuses that reflect the ineptitude of the company to take on a project of this size.
The facts before us point irresistibly to an abuse of power in the award of this project, as well as criminal negligence (of the government) and breach of trust (of the project operator) in the misuse of public funds.
The correct thing to do is to nail the culprits, recover the fund and appoint a competent entrepreneur to spearhead the project.
Will the BN government do what is right, or will it be business as usual?
MCA wants Penang voters to give the party a chance in the coming national polls to act as a form of checks and balances to the ruling Pakatan Rakyat pact.
Penang MCA secretary Lau Chiek Tuan said this in a statement today, picking up the lead from fellow Barisan Nasional (BN) partner Gerakan a day after its president Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon volunteered to stay out of the coming 13th general elections.
Lau also alleged that many Penangites have been unhappy with the ruling DAP, which they claimed had not kept their pre-election pledges.
The state opposition Chinese partyman pinned this down to the lack of seats held by other parties.
“Pakatan Rakyat’s call for a two-party system is practically non-existent in the Penang state assembly,” Lau said.
He warned Penang voters against blindly supporting one party, saying “any proposal done by DAP can be detrimental to the interests of Penangites as any laws can be easily passed”.
The DAP swept all 19 seats contested in the landmark Election 2008, wiping out Gerakan from the 40-member state legislative assembly.
The BN coalition is represented solely by Umno with 11 seats, a sharp reversal from the 38 seats held by the powerful coalition in the 2004 elections and only the second time since Independence that the state has fallen into non-BN control, the last being in 1969.
DAP later joined allied with PKR (nine seats) and the Islamist PAS (one seat) to form a loose three-party pact now known as Pakatan Rakyat.
“Therefore, we hope that Penangites will give MCA a chance in the coming general elections to provide the people with an alternative choice with the existence of a two-party system to ensure that the rights and interest of the people of Penang are protected,” La said.
The current mandate only expires in May 2013 but all political parties are bracing themselves for national polls to be called as early as January next year.
However, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng previously said he may opt to hold polls only at the end of his administration’s term.
Barisan Nasional promises us change and reform — a stark difference from its previous insinuations that Malaysians want and need more of the same. But Barisan has blatantly failed to deliver, even under the leadership of Datuk Seri Najib Razak. All we keep getting is the same old
BARISAN SAYS IT WILL CLEAN HOUSE, TOSSING OUT THE CORRUPT AND CRIMINAL. IT’S SAID THAT BEFORE; TUN DR. MAHATHIR ENTERED OFFICE PROMISING A SLEW OF REFORMS, AS DID TUN ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI. WE KNOW WHAT THEY GAVE US; THEIR PROTÉGÉ, NAJIB, IS GIVING US MORE OF THE SAME. I NEED NOT ELABORATE ON ISA SAMAD’S REHABILITATION; THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF.
JUST PERMIT ME TO ADD THAT WE HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE MULTI-BILLION RINGGIT PORT KLANG FREE ZONE DEBACLE FOR YEARS NOW, AND THAT TO DATE, NOBODY HAS BEEN COLLARED AND HELD IN THE MACC OFFICES OVERNIGHT FOR NON-STOP QUESTIONING. WE CAN QUESTION A LOWLY STATE ASSEMBLYMAN’S AIDE ABOUT THE PETTY SUM OF RM2,400, BUT WE CAN’T EVEN BRING OURSELVES TO HOLD MINISTERS AND TYCOONS ACCOUNTABLE FOR WASTING BILLIONS — THIS HAS BEEN THE CASE SINCE THE TIME OF MAHATHIR, AND IT REMAINS THE CASE TODAY.
BARISAN PROMISES TO UNITE THE COUNTRY. AGAIN, WE HAVE HEARD THIS BEFORE. DR. MAHATHIR’S BANGSA MALAYSIA HAS GONE DOWN THE DRAIN, WITH NOTHING ACCOMPLISHED. ABDULLAH PROMISED TO WORK FOR ALL MALAYSIANS, BUT TRY AS HE DID, HE DELIVERED NOTHING EXCEPT A HANDFUL OF INTENSELY RACIST UMNO PARTY CONFERENCES. UNTIL YOU WALK THE WALK, YOU’RE JUST TALKING COCK.
PERHAPS THE MOST TELLING INCIDENT UNDER NAJIB’S REGIME SO FAR HAS BEEN THAT OF THE COW’S HEAD PROTEST. I DARE NOT IMAGINE WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF AN INDIAN GROUP HAD DONE THE SAME TO A QURAN — IF THEY HAD MUTILATED IT, DRAGGED IT ALONG A ROAD AND THEN TRAMPLED ON IT. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT LAWS LIKE THE SEDITION ACT ARE MEANT TO PREVENT — AND YET THE INCIDENT MET WITH TERRIBLY MUTED RESPONSE FROM UMNO LEADERS, WHO ARE CONTENT TO PRETEND THEY SPEAK FOR ALL MALAYSIANS, WHILE REALLY ONLY SPEAKING FOR THEIR OWN KIND.
NAJIB PROMISED INSTANT ACTION ON THE COW’S HEAD INCIDENT — AND YET NOBODY HAS BEEN JAILED, NO UMNO MEMBER HAS BEEN REPRIMANDED. THE STANDARD REFRAIN OF “LET THE COURTS AND POLICE DO THEIR JOB” RINGS HOLLOW WHEN IT IS USED TO COVER A MULTITUDE OF INJUSTICES AND SINS. DOES ANYONE HONESTLY DOUBT THAT IF SOMETHING SIMILAR HAD BEEN DONE TO THE QURAN, THE MEN BEHIND IT WOULD BE LANGUISHING RIGHT NOW IN KAMUNTING, OR WORSE?
BARISAN, YOU ASK US FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, TO GIVE YOU ANOTHER CHANCE. HOW MANY MORE BLOODY CHANCES DO YOU NEED TO PROVE THAT YOUR PARTY IS JUST TOO STRICKEN BY ARROGANCE AND GRAFT TO GOVERN? WE HAVE GIVEN YOU MORE THAN ENOUGH CHANCES — WE HAVE RETURNED YOU TO POWER IN EVERY GENERAL ELECTION SINCE INDEPENDENCE.
WE NEED TO STOP PRETENDING THAT BARISAN IS WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION BECAUSE OF ALL THESE NITPICKS YOU CAN FIND WITH PAKATAN RAKYAT. YES, PAKATAN IS NOT PERFECT. BUT I WOULD MUCH RATHER HAVE AN IMPERFECT PAKATAN GOVERNMENT THAN VOTE FOR THE PERFECTLY CONSISTENT DISHONESTY OF BARISAN. THE BIGGEST CORRUPTION SCANDAL IN PAKATAN TO DATE INVOLVES A FEW COWS AND PETTY CASH AMOUNTING TO A FEW THOUSAND RINGGIT HERE AND THERE; THE BIGGEST SCANDAL IN BARISAN INVOLVES A MULTI-BILLION RINGGIT WHITE ELEPHANT. LET’S NOT EVEN TALK ABOUT RACISM — NOT WHEN THE IDEOLOGY OF BARISAN’S LARGEST COMPONENT PARTY IS KETUANAN MELAYU, AND THE IDEOLOGY OF PAKATAN’S LARGEST COMPONENT PARTY IS KETUANAN RAKYAT.
IN EVERY ASPECT OF HUMAN EXISTENCE, CHANGE IS CONSTANT. YET CHANGE THAT ACTUALLY MATTERS OCCURS ONLY RARELY. EVEN THEN, EXCEPT IN RETROSPECT, GENUINELY TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE IS DIFFICULT TO IDENTIFY. BY ATTRIBUTING COSMIC SIGNIFICANCE TO EVERY NOVELTY AND DECLARING EVERY UNEXPECTED EVENT A REVOLUTION, SELF-ASSIGNED INTERPRETERS OF THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE – POLITICIANS AND PUNDITS ABOVE ALL – EXACERBATE THE PROBLEM OF DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THE TRIVIAL AND THE NON-TRIVIAL.
DID 9/11 “CHANGE EVERYTHING”? FOR A BRIEF PERIOD AFTER SEPTEMBER 2001, THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION SEEMED SELF-EVIDENT: OF COURSE IT DID, WITH MASSIVE AND IRREVOCABLE IMPLICATIONS. A MERE DECADE LATER, THE VERDICT APPEARS LESS CLEAR. TODAY, THE VAST MAJORITY OF AMERICANS LIVE THEIR LIVES AS IF THE EVENTS OF 9/11 HAD NEVER OCCURRED. WHEN IT COMES TO LEAVING A MARK ON THE AMERICAN WAY OF LIFE, THE LIKES OF STEVE JOBS AND MARK ZUCKERBERG HAVE LONG SINCE ECLIPSED OSAMA BIN LADEN. (WHETHER THE LEGACIES OF JOBS AND ZUCKERBERG WILL PROVE OTHER THAN TRANSITORY ALSO REMAINS TO BE SEEN.)
ANYONE CLAIMING TO DIVINE THE EXISTENCE OF GENUINELY BIG CHANGE HAPPENING NOW SHOULD, THEREFORE, DO SO WITH A SENSE OF MODESTY AND CIRCUMSPECTION, RECOGNISING THE POSSIBILITY THAT UNFOLDING EVENTS MAY REVEAL A DIFFERENT STORY.
ALL THAT SAID, THE PRESENT MOMENT IS ARGUABLY ONE IN WHICH THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER IS, IN FACT, UNDERGOING A FUNDAMENTAL TRANSFORMATION. THE “POSTWAR WORLD” BROUGHT INTO EXISTENCE AS A CONSEQUENCE OF WORLD WAR II IS COMING TO AN END. A MAJOR REDISTRIBUTION OF GLOBAL POWER IS UNDERWAY. ARRANGEMENTS THAT ONCE CONFERRED IMMENSE PREROGATIVES UPON THE UNITED STATES, HUGELY BENEFITTING THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, ARE COMING UNDONE.
IN WASHINGTON, MEANWHILE, A HIDEBOUND GOVERNING CLASS PRETENDS THAT NONE OF THIS IS HAPPENING, STUBBORNLY INSISTING THAT IT’S STILL 1945 WITH THE SO-CALLED AMERICAN CENTURY DESTINED TO CONTINUE FOR SEVERAL CENTURIES MORE (REFLECTING, OF COURSE, GOD’S EXPRESS INTENTIONS).
HERE LIES THE MOST DISTURBING ASPECT OF CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN POLITICS, WORSE EVEN THAN RAMPANT DYSFUNCTION BORNE OF PETTY PARTISANSHIP OR CORRUPTION EXPRESSED IN THE BUYING AND SELLING OF INFLUENCE. CONFRONTED WITH EVIDENCE OF A RADICALLY CHANGING ENVIRONMENT, THOSE HOLDING (OR ASPIRING TO) POSITIONS OF INFLUENCE SIMPLY TURN A BLIND EYE, REFUSING EVEN TO BEGIN TO ADJUST TO A NEW REALITY.
BIG CHANGE HAPPENING NOW
THE BIG CHANGE HAPPENING BEFORE OUR VERY EYES IS POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND MILITARY. AT LEAST FOUR CONVERGING VECTORS ARE INVOLVED.
FIRST, THE COLLAPSE OF THE FREEDOM AGENDA: IN THE WAKE OF 9/11, THE ADMINISTRATION OF GEORGE W. BUSH SET OUT TO REMAKE THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST. THIS WAS THE ULTIMATE STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE OF BUSH’S “GLOBAL WAR ON TERROR”.
| “THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAD EXPECTED OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM TO BE A SHORT, TIDY WAR WITH A DECISIVELY TRIUMPHANT OUTCOME. IN THE EVENT, IT TURNED OUT TO BE A LONG, DIRTY (AND VERY COSTLY) WAR YIELDING, AT BEST, EXCEEDINGLY AMBIGUOUS RESULTS.“ |
INTENT ON ACCOMPLISHING ACROSS THE ISLAMIC WORLD WHAT HE BELIEVED THE US HAD ACCOMPLISHED IN EUROPE AND THE PACIFIC BETWEEN 1941 AND 1945, BUSH SOUGHT TO ERECT A NEW ORDER CONDUCIVE TO US INTERESTS – ONE THAT WOULD PERMIT UNHINDERED ACCESS TO OIL AND OTHER RESOURCES, DRY UP THE SOURCES OF VIOLENT ISLAMIC RADICALISM, AND (NOT INCIDENTALLY) ALLOW ISRAEL A FREE HAND IN THE REGION. KEY TO THE SUCCESS OF THIS EFFORT WOULD BE THE US MILITARY, WHICH PRESIDENT BUSH (AND MANY ORDINARY AMERICANS) BELIEVED TO BE UNSTOPPABLE AND INVINCIBLE – ABLE TO BEAT ANYONE ANYWHERE UNDER ANY CONDITIONS.
ALAS, ONCE IMPLEMENTED, THE FREEDOM AGENDA ALMOST IMMEDIATELY FOUNDERED IN IRAQ. THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION HAD EXPECTED OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM TO BE A SHORT, TIDY WAR WITH A DECISIVELY TRIUMPHANT OUTCOME. IN THE EVENT, IT TURNED OUT TO BE A LONG, DIRTY (AND VERY COSTLY) WAR YIELDING, AT BEST, EXCEEDINGLY AMBIGUOUS RESULTS.
WELL BEFORE HE LEFT OFFICE IN JANUARY 2009, PRESIDENT BUSH HIMSELF HAD ABANDONED HIS FREEDOM AGENDA, ALBEIT WITHOUT ACKNOWLEDGING ITS COLLAPSE AND THEREFORE WITHOUT INSTRUCTING AMERICANS ON THE IMPLICATIONS OF THAT FAILURE. ONE SPECIFIC IMPLICATION STANDS OUT: WE NOW KNOW THAT US MILITARY POWER, HOWEVER IMPOSING, FALLS WELL SHORT OF ENABLING THE US TO IMPOSE ITS WILL ON THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST. WE CAN NEITHER LIBERATE NOR DOMINATE NOR TAME THE ISLAMIC WORLD, A VERDICT FROM THE BUSH ERA THAT BARACK OBAMA’S CONTINUING MISADVENTURES IN “AFPAK” HAVE ONLY SERVED TO AFFIRM.
TRYING HARDER WON’T PRODUCE A DIFFERENT RESULT. FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENCE ROBERT GATES CAUGHT THE NEW REALITY BEST: “ANY FUTURE DEFENCE SECRETARY WHO ADVISES THE PRESIDENT TO AGAIN SEND A BIG AMERICAN LAND ARMY INTO ASIA OR INTO THE MIDDLE EAST OR AFRICA SHOULD ‘HAVE HIS HEAD EXAMINED,’ AS GENERAL MACARTHUR SO DELICATELY PUT IT.”
TO BE SURE, FREEDOM AGENDA DEAD-ENDERS – FREQUENTLY FOUND UNDER K IN YOUR PHONE BOOK – CONTINUE TO ARGUE OTHERWISE. EVEN NOW, FOR EXAMPLE, KAGANS, KEANES, KRAUTHAMMERS AND KRISTOLS ARE INSISTING THAT “WE WON” THE IRAQ WAR – OR AT LEAST HAD DONE SO UNTIL PRESIDENT OBAMA FECKLESSLY FLUNG AWAY A VICTORY SO GLORIOUSLY GAINED. ESSENTIAL TO THEIR ARGUMENT IS THAT NO ONE NOTICE HOW THEY HAVE PROGRESSIVELY LOWERED THE BAR DEFINING VICTORY.
BACK IN 2003, THEY WERE TOUTING SADDAM HUSSEIN’S OVERTHROW AS JUST THE BEGINNING OF US DOMINATION OF THE MIDDLE EAST. TODAY, WITH SADDAM’S DEPARTURE SAID TO HAVE “MADE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE,” GETTING OUT OF BAGHDAD WITH US FORCES INTACT HAS BECOME THE OPERATIVE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS, OSTENSIBLY VINDICATING THE MANY THOUSANDS KILLED AND MAIMED, MILLIONS OF REFUGEES DISPLACED, AND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS EXPENDED.
MEANWHILE, AL-QAEDA IN MESOPOTAMIA REMAINS IN THE FIELD, CONDUCTING SOME 30 ATTACKS PER WEEK AGAINST IRAQI SECURITY FORCES AND CIVILIANS. THIS WE ARE EXPECTED NOT TO NOTICE. SOME VICTORY.
SECOND, THE GREAT RECESSION: IN THE HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN POLITICAL ECONOMY, THE BURSTING OF SPECULATIVE BUBBLES FORMS A RECURRING THEME. WALL STREET SHENANIGANS THAT LEAVE THE PLAIN FOLK FOOTING THE BILL ARE AN OFT-TOLD TALE. RECESSIONS OF ONE SIZE OR ANOTHER OCCUR AT LEAST ONCE A DECADE.
YET THE ECONOMIC DOWNTURN THAT BEGAN IN 2008 STANDS APART, DISTINGUISHED BY ITS SEVERITY, DURATION, AND RESISTANCE TO EVEN THE MOST VIGOROUS (OR EXTRAVAGANT) REMEDIAL ACTION. IN THIS SENSE, RATHER THAN RESEMBLING ANY OF THE GARDEN-VARIETY ECONOMIC SLUMPS OR PANICS OF THE PAST HALF-CENTURY, THE GREAT RECESSION OF OUR OWN DAY RECALLS THE GREAT DEPRESSION OF THE 1930S.
INSTEAD OF BEING A TRANSITORY PHENOMENON, IT SEEMINGLY SIGNIFIES SOMETHING TRANSFORMATIONAL. THE GREAT RECESSION MAY WELL HAVE INAUGURATED A NEW ERA – ITS LENGTH INDETERMINATE BUT LIKELY TO STRETCH FOR MANY YEARS – OF LOW GROWTH, HIGH UNEMPLOYMENT AND SHRINKING OPPORTUNITY. AS INCOMES STAGNATE AND MORE AND MORE YOUNGSTERS COMPLETE THEIR EDUCATION ONLY TO FIND NO JOBS WAITING, MEMBERS OF THE MIDDLE CLASS ARE BEGINNING TO REALISE THAT THE MYTH OF US AS A CLASSLESS SOCIETY IS JUST THAT. IN TRUTH, THE GAME IS RIGGED TO BENEFIT THE FEW AT THE EXPENSE OF THE MANY – AND IN RECENT YEARS, THE FIXING HAS BECOME EVER MORE SHAMELESSLY BLATANT.
THIS REALISATION IS RATTLING AMERICAN POLITICS. IN JUST A HANDFUL OF YEARS, CONFIDENCE IN THE WASHINGTON ESTABLISHMENT HAS DECLINED PRECIPITOUSLY. CONGRESS HAS BECOME A LAUGHINGSTOCK. THE HIGH HOPES RAISED BY PRESIDENT OBAMA’S ELECTION HAVE LONG SINCE DISSIPATED, LEAVING DISAPPOINTMENT AND CYNICISM IN THEIR WAKE.
ONE RESULT, ON BOTH THE FAR RIGHT AND THE FAR LEFT, HAS BEEN TO STOKE THE LONG-BANKED FIRES OF AMERICAN RADICALISM. THE ENERGY IN US POLITICS TODAY LIES WITH THE TEA PARTY MOVEMENT AND OCCUPY WALL STREET, BOTH EXPRESSING A DEEP-SEATED ANTIPATHY TOWARD THE OLD WAY OF DOING THINGS. POPULISM IS MAKING ONE OF ITS PERIODIC APPEARANCES ON THE US SCENE.
WHERE THIS WILL LEAD REMAINS, AT PRESENT, UNCLEAR. BUT OURS HAS LONG BEEN A POLITICAL SYSTEM BASED ON EXPECTATIONS OF EVER-INCREASING MATERIAL ABUNDANCE, PROMISING MORE FOR EVERYONE. WHETHER THAT SYSTEM CAN SUCCESSFULLY DEAL WITH THE CHALLENGES OF MANAGING SCARCITY AND DISTRIBUTING SACRIFICE RANKS AS AN OPEN QUESTION. THIS IS ESPECIALLY TRUE WHEN THOSE AMONG US WHO HAVE BEEN MAKING OUT LIKE BANDITS PROFESS SO LITTLE WILLINGNESS TO SHARE IN ANY SACRIFICES THAT MAY BE REQUIRED.
THIRD, THE ARAB SPRING: AS WITH THE FLOUNDERING US ECONOMY, SO WITH MIDDLE EASTERN POLITICS: PREDICTING THE FUTURE IS A PROPOSITION FRAUGHT WITH RISK. YET WITHOUT PRETENDING TO FORECAST OUTCOMES – WILL TUNISIA, EGYPT AND LIBYA EMBRACE DEMOCRACY? CAN ISLAMIC MOVEMENTS COEXIST WITH SECULARISED MODERNITY? – THIS MUCH CAN BE SAFELY SAID: THE ONGOING ARAB UPHEAVAL IS SWEEPING FROM THAT REGION OF THE WORLD THE LAST VESTIGES OF WESTERN IMPERIALISM.
| “ANY FUTURE DEFENCE SECRETARY WHO ADVISES THE PRESIDENT TO AGAIN SEND A BIG AMERICAN LAND ARMY INTO ASIA OR INTO THE MIDDLE EAST OR AFRICA SHOULD ‘HAVE HIS HEAD EXAMINED,’ AS GENERAL MACARTHUR SO DELICATELY PUT IT.” - ROBERT GATES, THE FORMER SECRETARY OF DEFENCE |
EUROPEANS CREATED THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST WITH A SINGLE PURPOSE IN MIND: TO SERVE EUROPEAN INTERESTS. WITH THE WANING OF EUROPEAN POWER IN THE WAKE OF WORLD WAR II, THE US – GINGERLY AT FIRST, BUT BY THE 1980S WITHOUT NOTICEABLE INHIBITION – STEPPED IN TO FILL THE VOID. WHAT HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN LARGELY A BRITISH SPHERE NOW BECAME LARGELY AN AMERICAN ONE, WITH THE EVER-ACCELERATING TEMPO OF US MILITARY ACTIVISM TESTIFYING TO THAT FACT.
ALTHOUGH WASHINGTON ABJURED THE OVERT COLONIALISM ONCE PRACTICED IN LONDON, ITS POLICIES DID NOT DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE THAT EUROPEANS HAD PURSUED. THE IDEA WAS TO KEEP A LID ON, EXCLUDE MISCHIEF-MAKERS, AND AT THE SAME TIME EXTRACT FROM THE MIDDLE EAST WHATEVER IT HAD ON OFFER. THE PREFERRED AMERICAN MO WAS TO ALIGN WITH AUTHORITARIAN REGIMES, OFFERING ARMS, SECURITY GUARANTEES AND OTHER BLANDISHMENTS IN RETURN FOR PROMISES OF BEHAVIOUR CONSISTENT WITH WASHINGTON’S PREFERENCES. CONCERN FOR THE WELLBEING OF PEOPLES LIVING IN THE REGION (ISRAELIS EXCEPTED) NEVER FIGURED AS MORE THAN AN AFTERTHOUGHT.
WHAT EVENTS OF THE PAST YEAR HAVE MADE EVIDENT IS THIS: THAT LID IS NOW OFF AND THERE IS LITTLE THE US (OR ANYONE ELSE) CAN DO TO REINSTALL IT. A GREAT EXERCISE IN ARAB SELF-DETERMINATION HAS BEGUN. ARABS (AND, ARGUABLY, NON-ARABS IN THE BROADER MUSLIM WORLD AS WELL) WILL DECIDE THEIR OWN FUTURE IN THEIR OWN WAY. WHAT THEY DECIDE MAY BE WISE OR FOOLISH. REGARDLESS, THE US AND OTHER WESTERN NATIONS WILL HAVE LITTLE ALTERNATIVE BUT TO ACCEPT THE OUTCOME AND DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES, WHATEVER THEY HAPPEN TO BE.
A WASHINGTON INHABITED BY PEOPLE CERTAIN THAT DECISIONS MADE IN THE WHITE HOUSE DETERMINE THE COURSE OF HISTORY WILL INSIST OTHERWISE, OF COURSE. DEMOCRATS CREDIT OBAMA’S 2009 CAIRO SPEECH WITH INSPIRING ARABS TO THROW OFF THEIR CHAINS. EVEN MORE LAUGHABLY, REPUBLICANS CREDIT GEORGE W. BUSH’S “LIBERATION” OF IRAQ FOR INSTALLING DEMOCRACY IN THE REGION AND SUPPOSEDLY MOVING TUNISIANS, EGYPTIANS AND OTHERS TO FOLLOW SUIT. TO PUT IT MILDLY, EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT SUCH CLAIMS SIMPLY DOES NOT EXIST. ONE MIGHT AS WELL ATTRIBUTE THE ARAB UPRISING TO THE 2010 DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL IN THE GULF OF MEXICO. THOSE EXPECTING EGYPTIANS TO ERECT STATUES OF OBAMA OR BUSH IN CAIRO’S TAHRIR SQUARE ARE LIKELY TO HAVE A LONG WAIT.
FOURTH, BELEAGUERED EUROPE’S QUEST FOR A LIFELINE: TO A CONSIDERABLE EXTENT, THE STORY OF THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY – AT LEAST THE COMMONLY-TOLD WESTERN VERSION OF THAT STORY – IS ONE OF EUROPE SCREWING UP AND AMERICA COMING TO THE RESCUE. THE REALLY BIG SCREW-UPS WERE, OF COURSE, THE TWO WORLD WARS. IN 1917 AND AGAIN AFTER DECEMBER 1941, THE US SENT LARGE ARMIES TO DEAL WITH THOSE WHO HAD DISTURBED THE PEACE. AFTER THE FIRST WAR, THE AMERICANS LEFT. AFTER THE SECOND, THEY STAYED, NOT ONLY PROVIDING SOLDIERS TO SAFEGUARD WESTERN EUROPE, BUT ALSO REJUVENATING THE SHATTERED ECONOMIES OF THE EUROPEAN DEMOCRACIES.
EVEN WITH THE PASSING OF A HALF-CENTURY, THE MARSHALL PLAN STANDS OUT AS A SINGULAR EXAMPLE OF ENLIGHTENED STATECRAFT – AND ALSO AS A TESTIMONIAL TO US’ UNSURPASSED ECONOMIC CAPACITY FOLLOWING WORLD WAR II. SAVING CONTINENTS IN DIRE DISTRESS WAS A JOB THAT ONLY THE US COULD ACCOMPLISH.
THAT WAS THEN. TODAY, EUROPE HAS ONCE AGAIN SCREWED UP, ALTHOUGH FORTUNATELY THIS TIME THERE IS NO NEED FOR FOREIGN ARMIES TO SORT OUT THE MESS. THE CRISIS OF THE MOMENT IS AN ECONOMIC ONE, DUE ENTIRELY TO EUROPEAN RECKLESSNESS AND IRRESPONSIBILITY (NOT QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT FROM THE BEHAVIOUR UNDERLYING THE US ECONOMIC CRISIS).
WILL UNCLE SAM ONCE AGAIN RIDE TO THE RESCUE? NOT A CHANCE. BESET WITH THE PROBLEMS THAT COME WITH OLD AGE, UNCLE SAM CAN’T EVEN MOUNT UP. TO WHOM, THEN, CAN EUROPE TURN FOR ASSISTANCE? RECENT HEADLINES TELL THE STORY:
“CASH-STRAPPED EUROPE LOOKS TO CHINA FOR HELP“
“EUROPE BEGS CHINA FOR BAILOUT”
“EU TAKES BEGGING BOWL TO BEIJING”
“IS CHINA THE BAILOUT SAVIOUR IN THE EUROPEAN DEBT CRISIS?”
THE CRUCIAL ISSUE HERE ISN’T WHETHER BEIJING WILL ACTUALLY PULL EUROPE’S BACON OUT OF THE FIRE. RATHER IT’S THE SHIFTING EXPECTATIONS UNDERLYING THE MOMENT. AFTER ALL, HASN’T THE ROLE OF EUROPEAN SAVIOUR ALREADY BEEN ASSIGNED? ISN’T IT SUPPOSED TO BE WASHINGTON’S IN PERPETUITY? APPARENTLY NOT.
BACK TO THE FUTURE
IN THE WORDS OF THE OLD BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD SONG: “SOMETHING’S HAPPENING HERE. WHAT IT IS AIN’T EXACTLY CLEAR.”
AMERICAN POLITICIANS STUBBORNLY BEG TO DIFFER, OF COURSE, CONTENT TO RECITE VAPID BUT REASSURING CLICHES ABOUT AMERICAN GLOBAL LEADERSHIP, AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM AND THAT NEVER-ENDING AMERICAN CENTURY. EVERYTHING, THEY WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE, WILL REMAIN JUST AS IT HAS BEEN – PROVIDING THE ELECTORATE INSTALLS THE RIGHT PERSON IN THE OVAL OFFICE.
“TO THOSE NATIONS WHO CONTINUE TO RESIST THE UNSTOPPABLE MARCH OF HUMAN, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FREEDOM,” DECLARES REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE JON HUNTSMAN, “WE WILL MAKE CLEAR THAT THEY ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY, BY ENSURING THAT AMERICA’S LIGHT SHINES BRIGHT IN EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE, REPRESENTING A BEACON OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION.”
| “TO THOSE NATIONS WHO CONTINUE TO RESIST THE UNSTOPPABLE MARCH OF HUMAN, POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC FREEDOM, WE WILL MAKE CLEAR THAT THEY ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF HISTORY, BY ENSURING THAT AMERICA’S LIGHT SHINES BRIGHT IN EVERY CORNER OF THE GLOBE, REPRESENTING A BEACON OF HOPE AND INSPIRATION.” - JON HUNTSMAN, THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE |
“THIS IS AMERICA’S MOMENT,” INSISTS MITT ROMNEY. “WE SHOULD EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE, NOT SHRINK FROM IT, NOT CRAWL INTO AN ISOLATIONIST SHELL, NOT WAVE THE WHITE FLAG OF SURRENDER, NOR GIVE IN TO THOSE WHO ASSERT AMERICA’S TIME HAS PASSED … I WILL NOT SURRENDER AMERICA’S ROLE IN THE WORLD.” WITH AN UNSURPRISING ABSENCE OF ORIGINALITY, THE TITLE OF ROMNEY’S CAMPAIGN “WHITE PAPER” ON NATIONAL SECURITY IS AN AMERICAN CENTURY.
GOVERNOR RICK PERRY’S CAMPAIGN WEBSITE OFFERS THIS IMPORTANT INSIGHT: “RICK PERRY BELIEVES IN AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM, AND REJECTS THE NOTION OUR PRESIDENT SHOULD APOLOGISE FOR OUR COUNTRY BUT INSTEAD BELIEVES ALLIES AND ADVERSARIES ALIKE MUST KNOW THAT AMERICA SEEKS PEACE FROM A POSITION OF STRENGTH.”
FOR HIS PART, NEWT GINGRICH WANTS IT KNOWN THAT “AMERICA IS STILL THE LAST, BEST HOPE OF MANKIND ON EARTH”.
THE OTHER REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES (RON PAUL ALWAYS EXCEPTED) DRAW FROM THE SAME SHALLOW AND STAGNANT POOL OF IDEAS. TO JUDGE BY WHAT WE MIGHT CALL THE C WRIGHT MILLS STANDARD OF LEADERSHIP – “MEN WITHOUT LIVELY IMAGINATION ARE NEEDED TO EXECUTE POLICIES WITHOUT IMAGINATION DEVISED BY AN ELITE WITHOUT IMAGINATION” – ALL ARE EMINENTLY QUALIFIED FOR THE PRESIDENCY. NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE US OR THE WORLD, THEY WOULD HAVE US BELIEVE, THAT CAN’T BE FIXED BY OUSTING BARACK OBAMA FROM OFFICE, THEREBY RESTORING THE RIGHTFUL ORDER OF THINGS.
“IS AMERICA OVER?” THAT QUESTION ADORNS THE COVER OF THE LATEST ISSUE OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, PREMIER ORGAN OF THE FOREIGN POLICY ESTABLISHMENT. AS IS TYPICALLY THE CASE WITH THAT ESTABLISHMENT, FOREIGN AFFAIRS IS POSING THE WRONG QUESTION, ONE DESIGNED CHIEFLY TO ELICIT A MISLEADING, IF BROADLY REASSURING ANSWER.
PROCLAIM IT FROM THE ROOFTOPS: NO, AMERICA IS NOT “OVER”. YET A GROWING ACCUMULATION OF EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE US TODAY IS NOT THE US OF 1945. NOR DOES THE INTERNATIONAL ORDER OF THE PRESENT MOMENT BEAR MORE THAN A PASSING RESEMBLANCE TO THAT WHICH EXISTED IN THE HEYDAY OF US POWER. EVERYONE ELSE ON THE PLANET UNDERSTANDS THIS. PERHAPS IT’S FINALLY TIME FOR AMERICANS – STARTING WITH AMERICAN POLITICIANS – TO DO SO AS WELL. SHOULD THEY REFUSE, A PAINFUL COMEUPPANCE AWAITS.
No comments:
Post a Comment