George Washington sagely warned against
America’s getting caught up in “entangling alliances” in
foreign affairs. President Bush, however, seems to think he’s smarter
than the first George W.
As a result of Bush’s arrogance or ignorance or
both, our country is now entangled in some ugly and messy alliances that
put us on the wrong side of history, morality, and the worldwide yearning
for democracy. For example, check out Bush’s buddy in Uzbekistan,
President Islam Karimov. Since Sept. 11, the Bush administration has
constantly hailed Karimov’s government as a staunch ally in the war
against terrorism. But what they’ve not wanted us to know is that
their buddy is a repressive, brutal, autocratic, terroristic thug who rules
Uzbekistan with an iron fist.
Karimov’s oppression and corruption drove the
people to boiling point in May, and protesters poured into the streets.
Karimov responded with a bloody crackdown, unleashing his troops and
gunning down several hundred protesters and bystanders. Karimov’s
government is trying to cover up the massacre by declaring that the
uprising was “a planned and well-prepared terrorist act by
international radical-extremist groups.” In other words, Karimov
says, he’s just a good soldier in Bush’s global
counterterrorism fight. “Only terrorists were liquidated,” his
spokesman said of the crackdown.
Amazingly, our government is still standing behind
Karimov and characterizing the people who rose up for democracy as
militants and terrorists. Secretary of State Condi Rice sympathized with
the oppressor, saying that no government should have to “deal with
terrorists.”
Guess who has armed and trained Karimov’s
troops? Our government. Using the Foreign Military Financing Program, the
Bush administration has entangled our country with a thoroughly repressive
regime, creating new enemies for America among the people who should be our
friends.
This article appears in Jun 16-22, 2005.
