The Sky is Falling

This is a review of Nemesis: The Last days of the American Republic by Chalmers Johnson. This is a big seller and, therefore, an important work.

In Nemesis: The Last days of the American Republic Chalmers Johnson makes strong claims about the danger we’re in from our own leaders. I’ll stipulate to many of his warning signs and dangers, but I come up way short of his conclusions.

We’re an empire. I have no trouble with that; we’ve been acting like one since the days of Jefferson and Monroe. Certainly we acted like an Empire in the Mexican War, in our behavior during the Spanish American War and in the period since World War II. But Johnson makes us sound like the only nation to exhibit such behavior since the British started assembling their world of pink and we’re not. The Italians, Germans, and Japanese got all caught up in imperial thinking, and don’t forget them old Soviets.

With the end of the Cold War, we were the only ones left standing tall and with money to burn, and we’ve been throwing a lot of that money and our hard power around, often recklessly, and Johnson points out many of our flaws and warts, sometimes very effectively. But, frankly, despite being riveted by the tale, I didn’t like the book very much.

Those like me in the middle of the political spectrum don’t have many people screaming for our side – I suppose the center isn’t a side. We‘re caught between those on the right trying to scare the bejesus out of us with the idea that every Muslim woman in Kansas City has a bomb up her burka and that every young adherent of Islam in Detroit wants to cut off our heads with his scimitar. On the left we have writers like Johnson pointing out every action by George IV and Dick Cheney, aka Richard III, as another step in our enslavement under the new tyranny of President for Life George W.

Unfortunately for Johnson, the book came out prior to the November 2006 Congressional election, and the Democrats have made the emperor and his prime minister look something less than Augustus and his head of the Praetorian Guard. That’s not to say that we in the middle don’t see all or many of the dangers that Johnson points out in his `sky is falling’ style.

To Johnson it seems that every soldier is a jack booted maniac intent on terrorizing innocent civilians. Frankly, I think our warriors come off pretty badly but through little fault of their own. In Johnson’s world half the soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen stationed across the globe do little but act as hooligans and rapists in terrorizing the locals. Here again a little truth goes a long way. I’m not excusing our troops with a boys will be boys escape clause. Certainly, many horrible acts have been committed, and we should be cracking down on all violence against our allies. But the vast majority of those wearing our uniform have got to be half way decent men and women. Exceptions can’t be used to prove the rules, and Johnson really does this.

Johnson’s thesis is that we use our soft power to force allies across the globe to swallow our presence. Let’s get real, the leaders of the host countries have to see some benefits to having our bases in their countries, or they simply wouldn’t do it. Not everybody in power in other countries is on the take. I know that many of our bases are unwelcome. Guantanamo comes to mind, and certainly Fidel would like us out of there permanently, but, in the absence of the ability to chuck us into the Atlantic, he does permit Cubans to go to work each day and bring greenbacks to his side of the fence.

The author’s complaints against the military industrial complex are right on the money, but he’s hardly the first to see the danger. Washington and Madison were way ahead of Johnson and I heard Ike’s direct warning loud and clear. The dangers and techniques of the practitioners are well known and we are indeed in danger of tyranny if we don’t do better in dealing with this threat. I’ll also grant Johnson that he’s right in his fears about missile defense and space warfare.

He’s also right that Bush and Cheney were overly aggressive in aggrandizing executive power, and I support his views on this. His fears that the imperial presidency and the military industrial complex have neutered the Congress is scary, on target, and not to be dismissed lightly, but it’s also true that the Democrats – joined now by more than a few on the other side – are beating that jack back into his box. It’s an unending battle between branches, but my friends and I have been preaching the benefits of divided government for the entire period of these present abuses. The people, despite the bombardment of fear from both sides, seem to understand the problem and are supporting the new found courage of the Congress.

Before closing, I want to say something personal about Bush and Cheney. I hate what they’ve done in Iraq and despise the tactics they’ve used to gain power to diminish those who oppose them. But I do not for a minute believe that their intent was to become tyrants and dictators. They’ve done a lousy job, but they’re not of the evil intent to destroy the Republic.

Johnson is quick with `some say’ and `some think’ arguments that cannot be truly tested, and there are some technical errors – I think. For example, he points to an air base in Asia that has a 13,800 foot runway and which is manned by 3,000 Americans, all this on 37 acres. They must be packing those troops into a mighty tall high rise barracks building and the planes must have a very narrow wingspan.

Despite all my complaints, I recommend this book, but as a practicing propagandist I warn you that it’s a little more than over the top in its assertions and accusations.

Blog on!

Wild Bill