BOOK OF THE DAY: RUARÍ QUINNreviews The Inheritance : The World Obama Confronts and Challenges to American PowerBy David E Sanger Bantam Press Pp 457 , £12.99
THIS IS a well written instant book which will engage those who are interested in what President Obama must confront in the early months of his presidency.
It is addressed to an American audience, written by a senior US journalist. Europeans should read it with a distinct understanding of how we do not appear above the radar of America’s global concerns.
David E Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for the New York Times, is a seasoned and well informed journalist, who has contacts, experience and a great degree of informed judgment that demands respect.
It is a chilling reminder for Europeans and others of how Washington sees itself.
In short, it is a situation report to the incoming president about the state of play in six conflict zones around the world that need to be observed and dealt with.
For some of us older Europeans, the images of Constantine and the Roman Empire come easily to mind. This is an engaged geo-political narrative with an imperial overview which is unrepentant and frankly chilling.
In the mind of the author, the Bush administration was a disaster. There are real problems, however, and this is what the Obama administration must do.
Sanger identifies six areas of serious concern to the United States. These are: Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea, China and what are ultimately described as the three “vulnerabilities” – the deterrence; the invisible attack and the dark angel. Significantly, there is no mention of the Palestinian/Israel conflict.
The description of the response of the US to Iran is fascinating, as it is clear that policy is not unified or well co-ordinated.
The author’s description of Afghanistan is very revealing. He makes the case that the boundary line between Pakistan and Afghanistan drawn up by Sir Mortimer Durand in 1893 was really to set the frontier between Britain’s India and Afghanistan. This compounds America’s problem in its pursuit in its war against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. The northwest tribal territories are really more an integral part of Afghanistan than that of Pakistan.
North Korea’s role as a rogue nuclear state is a constant worry for the White House.
Sanger articulates the view that the US must regard China as an economic partner and a political and military problem all at the same time.
The world can no longer be divided by the White House as between good guys and bad guys as was determined by Ronald Reagan and George W Bush. The first five are relatively easy to understand.
In short, the author concludes the Bush administration screwed up in all of these areas and Obama must learn from Bush’s mistakes and repair the damage done.
In the sixth section of the book Sanger explores the three challenges that confront the incoming president in what he calls the “vulnerabilities”. He responds to these with a set of recommendations and proposals that Obama should consider and possibly implement.
The author reminds the new US president that he lives in a new world.
The US must recognise that its role as the sole superpower, after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, is now over.
Other states will rise, as both political and economic powers across the globe, which will change today’s landscape forever. China, India, Brazil and others will deconstruct the existing balance of world power. The neo conservatives have, at last, been banished from the White House.
The book is a good read, embellished with many insightful comments and intimate sources which give it an immediacy and relevance which our times require. It is full of nuggets of fact and observation which inform and authenticate the broad thesis of its intent. But let us be clear what that intent really is. We are moving inexorably from Pax Americana to Rex Americana.
Europe has been sidelined. The EU is recognised but also dismissed. We are not on the horizon of the Obama agenda. If we wish to assert our role, our values and our economic influence, then we need to make the EU fit for purpose in the 21st century.
At present, the view from Washington does not include Europe.
Ruairí Quinn, TD , is the Labour Party spokesman for education and science