|
Fractured Foreign Policy President Bush and Captain Arab -- Psychological soul-mates Alex A. Vardamis Wednesday, February 26, 2003 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Literature can often place a current dilemma in perspective. To understand the crisis between the United States and Iraq, Americans would do well to refer to Herman Melville`s "Moby Dick." The parallels are striking. Consider the cast of characters: Captain Ahab is played by President George W. Bush. First mate Starbuck is Secretary of State Colin Powell. The Pequod`s three harpooners -- the Indian Dagoo, the African Tashtego and the kindly cannibal Queequeg -- are the military forces of the USA. They are the ones who confront the enemy. Their job is to hurl harpoons (read cruise missiles) down the whale`s throat. The Pequod`s diversified crew represents not only all races of mankind, but all temperaments. They are the American people. They range from the intellectual schoolmaster Ishmael and the easygoing second mate Stubb, to the third mate Flask, brave and high-spirited to a fault. Finally, the great white whale, Moby Dick is, of course, none other than Saddam Hussein. To carry the comparison further, suppose Ahab`s whaling ship, the Pequod, to be the United States of America. The hostile ocean, then, is the billion- strong Muslim world. Ahab is motivated by a monomaniacal hatred of Moby Dick. He is unable to rest until he has killed the whale. Bush, too, displays an obsession with Hussein. Both Bush and Ahab feel a personal affront. Ahab lost his leg to Moby Dick. The president`s dad was politically crippled by an inability to destroy Hussein. Just as the Pequod`s job is to harvest oil from the sperm whale, so the current crisis involves controlling Iraq`s oil supply. But Ahab, like Bush, demonstrates only a perfunctory interest in economics. He forgets the principal purpose of his voyage and, instead, uses his whaling ship as an instrument of vengeance. Ahab and Bush view the universe through the same lens. They see mankind engaged in a perpetual struggle between right and wrong. Ahab and Bush believe they are confronting pure evil. Compromise, therefore, is impossible. Good nations support America and bad nations oppose her in this dualistic world view. It is interesting that Ahab`s confidante, the sinister Persian (read, Iranian) Fedallah, shares this view of the universe with Bush`s advisers, including the "prince of darkness," Richard Perle. However, Bush, like Ahab, faces opposition. Starbuck, the Pequod`s brooding first mate, initially tries to dissuade Ahab from his quest. Similarly, Bush`s first mate, Powell, was an early advocate of moderation. But Starbuck and Powell are good soldiers. They take orders. Everyone is familiar with the conclusion of Moby Dick. The struggle with the great white whale ends with harpoons flying through the air, capsized whaleboats and churning waves. Ahab is garroted by a harpoon line. Moby Dick sinks the Pequod. All hands, but one, are lost. In the struggle between good and evil, evil triumphs, it appears. Or, perhaps, does evil reside in Ahab`s obsession? Most whales live out their lives placidly floating in the sea and feeding on plankton. Perhaps Moby Dick, a force of nature and potential weapon of mass destruction, turns violent only when he is goaded by relentless New Englanders. In any case, Ishmael, the only survivor of the Pequod, clings to a coffin floating among the scattered wreckage. Ishmael? Is Ishmael not the forefather of the Arabs? What in God`s name was Melville thinking when he wrote the Great American Novel? Is there a message here? Alex A. Vardamis is a retired professor of American literature from West Point and the University of Vermont. He lives in Carmel. |
|
| aus der Diskussion: | Guten Morgen Mr. Bush |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | Joerver (26.02.03 21:08:05) |
| Beitrag: | 92 von 35,423 (ID:8741975) |
| Alle Angaben ohne Gewähr © wallstreetONLINE | |