The United States:
Costs of empire
In a year dominated by unprecedented foreign forays, the American domestic scene was dramatically shaken by the Bush administration's war on Iraq. Throughout the United States -- in New York, Washington DC, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other cities and towns -- hundreds of thousands took to the streets in militant anti-war demonstrations, reminiscent only of the Vietnam-era protests. In 2003, however, there was a remarkable difference. As prominent writer and political activist Noam Chomsky remarked, this was the first time in the history of the US anti-war movement that the protests actually preceded the war -- and aimed to prevent it.
As Brian Becker, an organiser with the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop the War and End Racism) coalition noted, it was also the first time that both the Iraqi and Palestinian flags figured prominently on demonstration banners. For the American anti-war movement, Iraq and Palestine had become powerful symbols of popular resistance.
If anti-war demonstrations pitted the left against the right, controversy surrounding the Patriot Act proved to be equally divisive. In a last-ditch effort to boost the Bush presidential campaign and lend credence to actual cutbacks in people's constitutional rights, US Attorney General John Ashcroft went on a national tour to promote what he called "the cause of our time".
One of the more dramatic moments of 2003, a massive power outage across the northeastern states and Canada that left over 60 million people in the dark for two days in August, was not nearly as catastrophic as was expected, owing to fact that, even in New York City where people took to the streets as public transportation and businesses shut down, everyone was actually being nice to each other.
September 2003 saw the first major US-Arab attempt at dialogue during the US-Arab Economic Forum in Detroit. The event, it was hoped, would address economic reform, human development and cultural exchange, but unwelcome remarks by US Secretary of State Colin Powell guaranteed that most of the "dialogue" was reduced to focussing on who liked Israel the least.
The court room seemed to be the centre of irony in the US this year, as the judiciary began to broaden the scope of constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, many of which President Bush opposed. Against the wishes of the administration, the rights of detainees apprehended in the "war on terror" were reviewed by the courts this year, setting the stage for what could turn out to be a historic ruling next year when the Supreme Court decides whether prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay should have access to US courts. Just last week an appeals court ruled that Jose Padilla, a US citizen held as an "enemy combatant" for allegedly plotting a "dirty bomb" attack, had unjustly been denied due process guarantees. The administration was ordered to turn Padilla over to civilian custody.
In June the Supreme Court struck down a Texas anti-sodomy law on the grounds that consenting adults had a constitutional right to sexual privacy. Moreover, the Massachusetts Supreme Court decided to allow same-sex marriages, and the Episcopal Church appointed an openly gay priest, Reverend V Gene Robinson, as the new bishop of New Hampshire. Most likely, these were not the sort of freedoms Bush and his constituency had in mind.
Bush's popularity and chance at re- election were as up and down this year as the new Department of Homeland Security's colour-coded threat system. The risk is always "elevated" or "high", but at least Bush's fortunes can be understood by most people.
With a seemingly recovering economy, Bush just might avoid the economic mire that led to his father's ousting. The Democrats are wheeling out their bids for next year, but for the most part their chances of trouncing Bush range from a long shot to a really long shot. Not to mention Saddam Hussein's recent capture, which has also boosted Bush's ratings. No one seems to mind that February's "evidence" for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq turned out to be specious at best by November.
Moving on to another phenomenon of American politics, Austrian-born actor- cum-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California. Widespread disappointment with his predecessor Gray Davis led to an election recall and to Arnie's election as governor of the state boasting the world's fifth largest economy. Shortly after Schwarzenegger's victory, the southern half of the state literally went up in flames, killing over 20 and scorching hundreds of thousands of acres.
While 2003 was really the year of US globe-trotting, the stage has been set for what could be profound developments next year.
Reviewed by Ramsey Al-Rikabi
