Welcome to Britain

The arrival of President Bush in the UK is a slightly awkward time for those of us who opposed the war on Iraq and support liberal and ecologically-sound policies. A state visit should be less about the specific person, more the country he represents. On that basis, we should welcome Bush, as he represents a country which has much to admire about it. Unfortunately, the particular President chosen as the first to receive this honour in 85 years is a pretty good example of the worst America has to offer.

Luckily, both Bush and Blair seem intent on turning the state visit into a party political for their respective organisation. Whether you look at a security operation designed to ensure that Bush doesn’t have to meet any actual Britons, the President meeting with the families of British servicemen who died in Iraq (a courtesy he has blatantly refused to grant to his own country's dead) or the expected speeches on what a good job we did in Iraq, the State visit is being used purely to boost the two leaders flagging popularity. Which leaves us free to take the opportunity to present the President with one or two home truths.

Let's start with the current Iraq disaster in the making. Days before leaving for Britain, Bush announced that the US would withdraw from Iraq. Three weeks ago, I wrote a column calling for a sensible withdrawal from Iraq. While the US is withdrawing, it is doing so in a manner that leaves much to be desired. Command of the country will be handed over to an unelected, unrepresentative council, who have been chosen for their willingness to obey American orders. Their legitimacy will be established next year in elections, which they will oversee. They are also to be given control of the Iraqi armies and security forces. This council is dominated by secular, Sunni Iraqis.

Now perhaps this group will surprise us. Perhaps the elections will be genuinely democratic. But given that would mean the current rulers being largely thrown out on their ears, somehow I doubt it. Even if it does happen, it will be no thanks to Bush and his cronies. Iraq does not have a constitution. America is handing over power with no guarantees in place as to human rights. No guarantees of religious freedom, rights for minorities. No guarantees of women's rights. Instead, they are trying to live on planet perfect-for-America. Put in an ideal government for American business, hope they are better than Hussein, and hope the world believes that the Iraqis accept them. The Iraqis themselves, many of whom seem less than keen on their American liberators, seem to get little say. The American battle for hearts and minds has now moved on to a strategy of bombing entire neighbourhoods where opposition is believed to exist.

Is this what freedom looks like to Bush? Impose a government, bomb those who disagree. It is an interesting model to leave the incoming Iraqi government - if dialogue fails to get the result you want, violence is always an option. Justify any attack by claiming that you were targeting "terrorists". It is certainly a message that most Iraqis are familiar with. Political violence has long been a fact of life in the region. The model democracy that Bush promised before the war seems a long way off. At best, Iraq has gained an unstable and delicate democracy, with the threat of violence, coup, and even civil war hovering in the background.

This is just one more example of Bush's weakness. The Iraq job half done, and he is pulling out. The timing is suspicious. The timetable will mean that Americans will not be killed in the run up to next year's presidential elections, while not allowing sufficient time for the new government to run into public problems. After which, it becomes someone else's problem. Bush will have his two terms. One of the objections to the war was that Bush seemed to have no clear plan for how the war would leave Iraq in a better shape. It appeared to be a case of "remove Hussein, cross fingers, and hope". That seems to still be the plan. Bush has lost heart, and now Iraq is being left to fend for itself. Most likely, a new military dictatorship will appear. But the five years or so before that becomes clear is long enough that Bush himself will have retired from politics.

Iraq is currently the most obvious example of Bush's failure. Other examples are not difficult to find. The environment was sacrificed early, the Kyoto agreement dispatched with unseemly haste to satisfy his backers. The US economy has been decimated, with services and standard of living slashed for many Americans, while unemployment has risen. Even the much vaunted War on Terrorism has largely been abandoned. Iraq is largely a symptom of this - the administration lacks the imagination to combat terror, so distracted us with a meaningless war in the desert. Even politics has been a disaster. Donald Rumsfield pointed out that the War on Terror was going badly, and found himself ostracised. The President's approval ratings have fallen to the same level as immediately after he crept into the Whitehouse despite losing the popular vote. Not good for a man who enjoyed 85% approval just two years ago.

Of all the Presidents who have graced the Whitehouse in my lifetime, this one is the least inspiring. Lacking in intelligence and imagination, it will be difficult for the history books to come up with anything positive about this buffoon. While he is in Britain, there are many questions I would like to see him asked. "What happened to the model democracy you promised Iraq?" "Is environmental disaster really what you want to bequeath your grandchildren?" "Where next for Palestine and Israel?" But the big question for Blair is "Why him?"

Graham Robinson. 19th November 2003.

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