Senator McCain - A man who understands war’s terror

ONE of the most unnerving things about the terrible attacks on New York in September 2001 was the creation of an atmosphere that almost equated American patriotism with aggression towards those who would dare to disagree with America.

For a period, the most powerful nation in the history of mankind turned a brutish face to the world: if you’re not with us, you’re against us was the disagreeable and intolerant mantra.

President Bush and his Praetorian guards Rumsfeld and Cheney dealt only in absolutes and encouraged the view that ultimately led to the terrible invasion of Iraq.

These two events shaped the presidency of George W Bush and will continue to shape the next presidency if Senator John McCain is elected later this year.

Senator McCain comes from a naval background, his grandfather commanded a carrier fleet during World War II and his father was commander of Pacific forces in the Vietnam War.

His own experiences, especially his harrowing, life-defining years as a tortured prisoner of war in

Vietnam, have shaped a world view almost unique among American presidents or presidential candidates since the two-term presidency of Dwight Eisenhower, who served between 1953 and 1961.

Senator McCain’s formation led to him scoffing at proposals of humanitarian aid to Rwanda or Bosnia and who, at an election rally last month, sang “bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran” to the tune of the Beach Boys’ hit Barbara Ann. He has suggested North Korea should be threatened “with extinction” and is happy for US troops to remain in Iraq “for 100 years”.

This is the very kind of Old Testament rhetoric that sends shivers down the spine of so many Americans and even more non Americans.

These concerns are especially deeply-felt in countries that have had to learn to live with conflict and terrorism on their doorstep. They came to realise the hard way that resolution means both sides moving towards each other rather than one imposing its will on the other.

Of course, Senator McCain’s stridency also raises another question. Especially as very few of us can call on the heritage or personal experiences of war and its consequences as he can.

Senator McCain, who, at 71, would be the oldest president ever elected if he wins the White House in November, has written: “Veterans really hate war. I hope there’s no glorification of war in anything I’ve written or said.”

Like so many military men he is horrified by the consequences of war but probably even more horrified of the consequences of not making war.

And there’s the rub — when given the option of voting for a man with a war record and a willingness to confront those he perceives to be the enemies of his country you are asked to vote on trust rather than policy. The trust that if elected he will do all he can to avoid the final option.

Americans will have a say in this, the rest of us can only hope that whoever is elected will recognise a responsibility beyond America’s self interest.