The rogue elephant.

• Author: Boyle, Francis A.
• Position: George Bush, Jr.

When George Bush, Jr. came to power in January of 2001, he proceeded to implement foreign affairs and defense policies that were every bit as radical, extreme and excessive as those of the Reagan/Bush administrations had starting in January of 1981. Upon his installation, Bush Jr.'s "compassionate conservatism" quickly revealed itself to be nothing more than reactionary Machiavellianism--as if there had been any real doubt about this during the presidential election campaign. Even the Bush, Jr. cast of Machiavellian characters was pretty much the same as the original Reagan/Bush foreign affairs and defense "experts." It was deja vu all over again, as Yogi Berra aptly put it.

International legal nihilism

In quick succession the world saw these Bush, Jr. Leaguers repudiate:

* the Kyoto Protocol on global warming,

* the International Criminal Court,

* the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT),

* an international convention to regulate the trade in small arms,

* a verification Protocol for the Biological Weapons Convention,

* an international convention to regulate and reduce smoking,

* the World Conference Against Racism, and

* the Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems Treaty.

To date, the Bush administration has not found an international convention that it did like. The only exception was the shameless exploitation of the September 11, 2001 tragedy in order to get the US House of Representatives to give Bush Jr. so-called "fast-track" trade negotiation authority.

More ominously, once into office the Bush administration adopted an incredibly belligerent posture towards the Peoples' Republic of China (PRC), publicly identifying the PRC as America's foremost competitor/opponent into the 21st century.

Then their needlessly pugnacious approach towards the downing of a US spy plane in China with the death of a Chinese pilot only exacerbated already tense US/Chinese relations. Next, the Bush administration decided to sell high-tech weapons to Taiwan in violation of the USA/PRC Joint Communique of August 17, 1982 that had been negotiated and concluded earlier by the Reagan/Bush administration.

Finally came Bush Jr.'s breathtaking statement that the United States would defend Taiwan in the event of an attack by the PRC irrespective of Article I, Section 8, Clause 11 of the United States Constitution, expressly reserving to Congress alone the right to declare war. President Jimmy Carter had long-ago terminated the US-Taiwan self-defense treaty.

The withdrawal from the ABM Treaty

Then, as had been foreshadowed, whispered, and hinted at, came the announcement on December 13, 2001 by the Bush Jr. administration of their intent to withdraw the US from the ABM Treaty, effective within six months. Of course, it was sheer...