Diplomatic Sleight of Hand
By Col. Dan Smith
“At the edge of the Rubicon, men don’t go fishing.”
“Richard Nixon” in the 1987 Opera, “Nixon in China”
“I can predict that the historians will say that George W. Bush recognized the threats of the 21st century, clearly defined them, and had great faith in the capacity of liberty to transform hopelessness to hope, and laid the foundation for peace by making some awfully difficult decisions.”
George W. Bush, January 4th, 2008 Interview for Israel’s Channel 2
Those familiar with the Tarot know that the figure depicted on the first card in the deck is the Magician. The Magician is a very powerful figure, for seemingly he creates realities where before there was nothing. A clear indication of this creative power is the presence on the card of the mathematical sign for infinity, the possessor of all knowledge (magi), all space, all time going forward.
But those who would ask the Magician to “perform” need be wary of what the response is. In some cultures, the magician is a trickster whose real objective is to deceive–sometime with devastating consequences for the interlocutor. And when that interlocutor is the President of the United States, the consequences of deception can be earth-shattering. Think back to June 16th, 2001, when George Bush and Vladimir Putin met for the first time in Slovenia. In answer to a reporter’s question about whether the U.S. could trust Russia (and by implication, Putin), Bush replied: “I looked the man in the eye. I was able to get a sense of his soul. I appreciated so very much the frank dialogue that’s the beginning of a very constructive relationship.” At this time, before Russia regained economic strength from rising oil prices, before September 11th, 2001, before Iraq, Bush saw himself as the man who would make things happen. After all, as the new millennium opened, the United States was indisputably the most powerful nation in the history of the world.
In short, even then Bush saw himself as the Magician, as the “decider.” In reality, those who see themselves in that role are sure to be deceived, for they are focused on that which is intended to distract attention from what is really happening. The power of any good Magician, after all, is to be able to conjure an illusion that holds the attention of his audience long enough to reveal the reality that has always existed but was hidden.
Fast forward to late 2007-early 2008. With one year left in his presidency, George Bush has no significant positive foreign policy achievements. At the beginning of 2007, he sent 40,000 additional U.S. troops into Iraq to stave off increased sectarian and ethnic depredations. In January 2008, he is sending 3,200 more troops into Afghanistan to try to stabilize conditions there. The attempt to push forward the “roadmap” for Mid-East peace–starting with the November 22nd Annapolis summit, had bogged down and, unless re-invigorated, would likely stall as had all previous efforts.
We may never know who the “Magician” behind the curtain was who kept the props in place while the actors played their parts on history’s center stage. But assume he or she finally succeeded in pushing forward one other long-standing issue whose resolution in 2008 would guarantee George Bush’s coveted positive mark on world history. It would, if successful, rival the Nixon-Kissinger opening to China in 1972 in its impact.
http://www.counterpunch.org/smith01122008.html