Thanks to MetaFilter I just discovered the Gwynne Dyer site where none of his articles are edited to fit 200 or so papers he is published in.
His 2004 column, written December 24th, is a good read - a global snapshot.
The world has been on hold this year. Interesting and important things have happened in many countries, and most people have scarcely noticed that international politics is becalmed — but it is. The normal
business of the planet has pretty much slowed to a halt and we are all
gently drifting downstream together while we wait to see what becomes of
the United States — and, as a result, of the rest of the world, for the US
is still a key player in almost every game. We may be waiting some time.The war in Iraq is not really very important, because Iraq itself
is not all that important in the global scheme of things, any more than
Vietnam was a generation ago. What matters is the way that this war is
shaping America’s relations with the rest of the world, and in that sense
Iraq has the potential to be a far bigger turning point than Vietnam ever
could have been.
He takes a good look at realities in the politics of the world, while poking holes in the myths we cling to. It is a whirlwind world tour, a succient summary of fortune, failure and hope wrapped in 365 days.
Published 3 years, 10 months ago…Sooner or later American voters will rebel against the human and financial cost of trying to be Globocop. so just wait it out, and sooner or later normal service will be restored in Washington.
That is the right strategy, and there is at least a couple of years’ worth
of patience in other capitals before anybody gives up on it. With luck,
that may be enough.In the meantime, everybody tries to get on with their lives as if there were not some potential calamity looming over us all. And though the big picture is menacing, the fine detail is a bit more encouraging.
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One thing you have to remember was one of the major reasons Bush won was his stance on Iraq. 53% of the country spoke. Even some of those for the war in Iraq voted for Kerry based on other reasons. Those against the War are a minority because the American public understands the purpose and the benefit in Afghanistan (totally new democracy, even those against this war (Afghanistan) consider it a success) and they know it takes more time for success in a much bigger country like Iraq. Don’t you want as many countries experiencing the freedom we have in Canada and the US? Should we sit back and do nothing when countries or people within a country are asking for help?
A concensus of allied troops went into Afghanistan.
They have had their first election, and if the opium trade doesn’t completely take over and the constitution gets written, and safety can be extened past the capital and the countries participating stay until there is stability and safety Afghanistan will not be the democracy the US wants, but it will be a functioning country.
Iraq is another scenario. The US decision and problems it is experiencing isn’t because Iraq is a bigger country.
Wanting countries to experience freedom doesn’t mean instigating unilateral wars that aggravate factionary groups not willing to participate in an election.
I don’t see western US military operations in Dafur, the Congo etc, so that reasoning doesn’t hold much weight.
I completely agree the majority of the voters in the US put Bush back in office. I think there were a lot of reasons they did so. He is your president for the next four years.
Blog on!
I’m glad to see that you seem to support the effort in Afghanistan. It is great the the US was able to take the lead in getting as many countries on board. The Constitution has already been ratified in Afghanistan. I saw on CSPAN the approval. Around 80% of the people live in Kabul so there is democracy in Afghanistan and that 80% overwhelmingly supports the US even the Afghan congress and the President have praised the US efforts specifically “without the US there would not be freedom in our country” Karazai said. We forget that both Iraq and Afghanistan had over 50 nations supporting both operations. It wasn’t just the US and that was it (unilateral). I do think there needs to be a coalition in Darfur and Congo. Multiple US administrations dropped the ball on these locations and I think it is a terrible. On a side note it is great to see that Darfur (Sudan) is getting as much attention as Tibet because for a while there it was Tibet, Tibet, Tibet. I pray Bush does a good job he has been doing a good job but so much more work is needed.
Hi Bene,
You mind letting us in on the address of the Gwyn Dyer site you found this in?
Regards, etc…
Hi David: Sorry about that!
Here is the list of articles:
http://www.gwynnedyer.net/articles/
And here is his main page:
http://www.gwynnedyer.net/
what format would you like the articles to be published in? I do the site for Gwynne as he and his wife are friends.
using txt files was thought by some tech friends as being easy to view in other languages over a multitude of platforms.
we welcome all suggestions to make it better.