Bush and Napoleon
Juan Cole (who is a professor of Middle Eastern and South Asian history at University of Michigan) and also the author of the book "Napoleon's Egypt: Invading the Middle East", recently, wrote a wonderful article comparing the present US invasion of Iraq to France's conquest of Egypt in 1798.This article was later published in one of our dailies. The author basically points out the striking similarities between the mindsets of President Bush and Napoleon Bonaparte as their speeches conveyed the same message of liberating their conquerors from their tyrant rulers. According to Cole, both these leaders, in the name of establishing ideologies such as democracy, liberty and security, tried to prove that their invasions were justified. But their policy to forcefully impose their own set of rules on another country proved to be futile as their plans backfired (it is apparent that the Iraq plan has backfired). They both targeted Arab-speaking Muslim countries and harbored dreams of a "Greater Middle East." Like Napoleon, Bush also followed the same strategy of ruling by terror and initially undertaking draconian measures to resist any form of threat or counterattack imposed by certain sections of his conquered lands. In other words, Napoleon while facing resistance from the Bedouin of the western Dirn tribe, had ordered his army to burn that village so that it sends a signal of caution to the protestors and make others aware of the consequences of opposing the French Army. Similarly, the devastating US air-raids and artillery attacks damaged two-thirds of Baghdad's buildings and the Americans did so as they initially faced resistance. However, the trick which both Napoleon and Bush missed according to Cole is that both their armies had certain weaknesses which made them vulnerable to the opposing forces; for instance the high-tech US military is still vulnerable to guerilla tactics as was the case with the French army having to fight against an ally of the Egyptians--the British Navy. Ultimately, the gist of his article is that like Napoleon, Bush is also trying to unleash terror against the Iraqis in the name of liberating their motherland from the clutches of militants to restore peace and calm. But as long as a stubborn Bush continues with his mission (which is basically to have greater control over certain Middle-East countries), the Iraqis will suffer (as there have already been countless civilian casualties) because unless the US troops leave, the violence in Iraq will continue to escalate and the situation will further deteriorate. Napoleon eventually had to surrender and may be Bush might eventually have to withdraw his determined plan to keep on deploying more troops and put an end to this war. Whether President Bush realises his mistake and finally decides to withdraw the troops is something I am eagerly waiting to see.
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