The Terrifying Ambition of the Empire Builders

Copyright (c) 2003 Jordan White

I am tired of hearing people say that, by not invading Iraq, President George W. Bush would be reprising the role of [then British P.M.] Neville Chamberlain, who was accused of “appeasing” Hitler by allowing him to dominate the nation of Czechoslovakia, if he agreed to leave alone the rest of Europe.

Besides the fact that there are no similarities whatsoever between the disarmed, non-threatening, petty tyrant Saddam Hussein (even the states bordering Iraq, most notably Iran and Jordan, do not regard him with any particular alarm), there are other issues to consider.

I think that if you asked Adolf Hitler why he wanted to invade Czechoslovakia, I doubt very much if he would have said, “I think that, if I take Czechoslovakia, it will go a long ways toward my establishing an empire over which I will be the all-powerful god. I shall be the most powerful man in the world”. By the same token, I don’t think he would have said, “I covet any natural resources Czechoslovakia has, and, of course its strategic value is of great importance to the furtherance of my empire in Europe, and, maybe, beyond”.

No, I think Hitler would probably have mouthed something about Czechoslovakia being some sort of threat to the freedom and democracy of the German people, and how he needed to eliminate its power structure in order to protect his own country.

He probably would have tried to paint the Czechoslovakian people as evil and dangerous, pointing out in every racist detail how the German folks were ethnically superior to the Czechoslovakians in every way imaginable. This sort of rant, of course, makes it much more easy to massacre them, since it serves to dehumanize them and, by the same token, works to inflame the patriotic zeal of every good citizen of the Faderland. “Deutschland Uber Alles!”

I think those folks who cast Bush in the Chamberlain role and Saddam Hussein in the Hitler role have it backwards.

Bush, like Hitler, is the would-be empire builder.

He is inciting hatred against Arab people, through his ridiculous “Patriot Act” and other means of intimidating and harassing Arabs and Arab-Americans.

He is coveting Iraq’s oil and strategic value.

He is crying out for “justice” (meaning revenge) for America for 9/11, while fanning the flames of out-of-control America-worship. You see, America-worship is a whole lot different than real patriotism. Real patriotism encourages freedom of opinion and expression, the veritable essentials of a democratic way of life. America-worship is idolatry. “America Uber Alles!”

George W. Bush is in no danger of reprising the role of Neville Chamberlain and his “policy of appeasement”. However, he is is imminent danger of taking a leaf out of the book of another despot, Adolf Hitler.

We need to start impeachment proceedings against this monster and his cohorts, Richard Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and John Ashcroft. Let’s end this evil regime before all Americans pay the price for supporting the terrifying ambition of the empire builders.