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From a speech May 3 at Kansas State University by Republican Senator Pat Roberts, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee (via Rodger A. Payne’s Blog):
“Whether or not the United States views itself as an empire, it is obvious that for many foreigners and international critics, we look, walk and talk like one and they have responded accordingly.
“An empire that displays weakness and is not taken seriously is in serious trouble. However, being perceived as capricious or imperious is also dangerous. The problem has often occurred when an imperial power insists on imposing a particular vision on the world.
“It seems to me that in fighting the global war against terrorism, we need to restrain what are growing U.S. messianic instincts – a sort of global social engineering where the United States feels it is both entitled and obligated to promote democracy – by force if necessary.”
I'm all for promoting democracy, but we haven't yet moved beyond our tendency define democracies as "countries who are on our side" and to call everyone else not-democracies. And, much like the War on Terror or the War on Drugs or the War on Poverty, the idea of a War Against Not-democracies is just another poorly chosen (though thankfully not in common usage) metaphor which allows those who think insufficient use of force is at the root of all of our problems to slant the debate in their favor.
Military force can be used to topple regimes, kill people, and destroy cities. But, that's basically where its usefullness in "spreading democracy" ends.
There isn't a single sensible person who really believes that we went to Iraq to install a democracy. Tom Friedman's war existed in his head and nowhere else. The messianic instinct Roberts refers to isn't about promoting democracy, it's a messianic desire to expand the number of client states who serve our interests. Essentially, the cold warriors live on, using American force to further certain US business interests and to install buffers between us and the mythical united Union of Muslim Fascist Republics (a replacement for the non-existent USSR), which said cold warriors began warning about as soon as the USSR collapsed.
And, sadly, the messianic tendencies of many involved are far more personal than most will acknowledge. Remember Ledeen:
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This is total war. We are fighting a variety of enemies. There are lots of them out there. And all this talk about, well, first we are going to do Afghanistan, then we will do Iraq, then we will take a look around and see how things stand, that is entirely the wrong way to go about it. Because these guys are all talking to each other and are all working with one another. . . . If we just let our own vision of the world go forth, and we embrace it entirely, and we don't try to be clever and piece together clever diplomatic solutions to this thing, but just wage a total war against these tyrants, I think we will do very well, and our children will sing great songs about us years from now."
Ledeen will go to his grave believing that if only we killed a few more people, toppled a few more regimes, it would have all worked out wonderfully. I imagine he's already written the lyrics to some of those songs.
Ignoring the human cost, this war has been a real waste of $200 billion. I wish I had that $200 billion at my disposal to fight poverty, cure disease, and, yes, promote democracy.