Nothing can shake the conviction of the US president that everything he has done has been right, writes Amin Howeidi* Do you always have a clue about how the mind of the person you're dealing with works? If you don't, then you're in trouble, especially if the person in question is the president of the United States. In My Life, former US President Bill Clinton describes Bush's early days in office. Bush and his team, says Clinton, gave priority to national security matters, especially to missile defence and the situation in Iraq. Bush had by then toned down his extreme right-wing rhetoric, thanks to the help of Democratic advisers who worked with him during the campaign. But once he won, the new president brought along an all-conservative team. President Bush, in Clinton's opinion, was ready to say anything to get into office. News agencies have recently quoted Bush as saying that his war in Iraq and Afghanistan was a mission from God. "God told me: 'George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq.' And I did." The way Bush uses excessive force reminds me of Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt believed that force is needed to protect peace, and that the US should make the world feel its might. "If I must choose between righteousness and peace, I choose righteousness," he once said. Henry Kissinger, commenting on Roosevelt's policies, concluded that Roosevelt was more interested in muscle flexing than principles. So is George Bush, and you'd better believe it. International policy makers seek one of three things: consensus, balance of power, or domination. Bush has no use for the first two. He prefers domination. That's the man who developed the theory that "if you're not with us, you're against us." That's the man who had his top aides teach the world about "old Europe". That's the man who promised to build a missile defence system that would make America safe as a castle. And that's the man who divided the world into allies and rogue states. After 9/11, Bush wasted no time invading Afghanistan and Iraq. His policies were disastrous, and yet he still insists that he's done the right thing. Having failed to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Bush began claiming that the US task in the Middle East was one of promoting democracy. He recently told a Republican think thank that his administration had allocated $4.6 billion to supporting democratisation programmes around the world. Obviously, he is hoping to redeem himself in the face of mounting domestic opposition. US allies in the region have long ignored democracy, while claiming to be keeping the peace. Their disregard for democracy, however, has proved detrimental to both security and stability in this region and beyond. The US administration now claims to have switched its policy, from one of backing dictatorial regimes to one of helping these regimes play fair. Freedom of expression, assembly, trade and worship are now at the top of the US foreign policy agenda. And any achievement in democracy in any country in the world is routinely hailed as an achievement of US diplomacy. The US State Department is now authorised to put together so-called Active Response Corps teams, who would be carrying out reconstruction and stabilisation tasks in various countries across the world. President Bush sees the world in terms of good and evil. Muslim extremists -- a main part of the evil he sees -- have to be defeated in the same way communism was in the late 20th century, he says. No matter that his policy of invasion has been a fiasco. No matter that his only success today is one of fomenting more hatred of the US. He still thinks he's right. In this region, some Arab governments have heeded the US call for democracy, and it remains to be seen if this is for real or they're just playing for time. On our streets, everything goes. Democracy advocates say "enough". But others believe that it is "not enough" yet. For now, the future is uncertain. The US is in a morass and does not know how to get out. And Arab statesmen are hedging their bets. * The writer is former minister of defence and chief of general intelligence.
