Posted on 27-2-2003

Iraq Excuse For Empire
by Norman Mailer

There is a subtext to what the Bushites are doing as they prepare for war
in Iraq. My hypothesis is that President George W. Bush and many
conservatives have come to the conclusion that the only way they can save
America and get if off its present downslope is to become a regime with a
greater military presence and drive toward empire. My fear is that
Americans might lose their democracy in the process.
By downslope I'm referring not only to the corporate scandals, the church
scandals and the FBI scandals. The country has gone kind of crazy in the
eyes of conservatives. Also, kids can't read anymore. Especially for
conservatives, the culture has become too sexual.
Iraq is the excuse for moving in an imperial direction. War with Iraq, as
they originally conceived it, would be a quick, dramatic step that would
enable them to control the Near East as a powerful base - not least
because of the oil there, as well as the water supplies from the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers - to build a world empire.
The Bushites also expect to bring democracy to the region and believe that
in itself will help to diminish terrorism. But I expect the opposite will
happen: terrorists are not impressed by democracy. They loathe it. They
are fundamentalists of the most basic kind. The more successful democracy
is in the Near East - not likely in my view - the more terrorism it will
generate.
The only outstanding obstacle to the drive toward empire in the Bushites'
minds is China. Indeed, one of the great fears in the Bush administration
about America's downslope is that the "stem studies" such as science,
technology and engineering are all faring poorly in U.S. universities. The
number of American doctorates is going down and down. But the number of
Asians obtaining doctorates in those same stem studies are increasing at a
great rate.
Looking 20 years ahead, the administration perceives that there will come
a time when China will have technology superior to America's. When that
time comes, America might well say to China that "we can work together,"
we will be as the Romans to you Greeks. You will be our extraordinary,
well-cultivated slaves. But don't try to dominate us. That would be your
disaster. This is the scenario that some of the brightest neoconservatives
are thinking about. (I use Rome as a metaphor, because metaphors are
usually much closer to the truth than facts).
What has happened, of course, is that the Bushites have run into much more
opposition than they thought they would from other countries and among the
home population. It may well end up that we won't have a war, but a new
strategy to contain Iraq and wear Saddam down. If that occurs, Bush is in
terrible trouble.
My guess though, is that, like it or not, want it or not, America is going
to go to war because that is the only solution Bush and his people can
see.
The dire prospect that opens, therefore, is that America is going to
become a mega-banana republic where the army will have more and more
importance in Americans' lives. It will be an ever greater and greater
overlay on the American system. And before it is all over, democracy,
noble and delicate as it is, may give way. My long experience with human
nature - I'm 80 years old now - suggests that it is possible that fascism,
not democracy, is the natural state.
Indeed, democracy is the special condition - a condition we will be called
upon to defend in the coming years. That will be enormously difficult
because the combination of the corporation, the military and the complete
investiture of the flag with mass spectator sports has set up a
pre-fascistic atmosphere in America already.
Norman Mailer's latest book is "The Spooky Art: Some Thoughts on Writing."
This comment was adapted from remarks Feb. 22 to the Los Angeles Institute
for the Humanities and distributed by Global Viewpoint/Tribune Media
Services International.