They Won’t Go

By Scott Horton

“It's not a question of using virtuous arguments over governance to put an end to this crisis, because these could then be turned against us,” observes Le Monde. Well, in this case, it’s not Alberto Gonzales but Paul Wolfowitz who’s drawing the attention. I’ve been looking at the European press coverage of the imbroglio over Wolfowitz, and it’s amusing. Le Monde is typical—those who think that appeals for the preservation of the institution and its image will move Wolfowitz to go should think again.

Indeed, what links the affaires Wolfowitz and Gonzales is simple: utter contempt towards the institutions that the two head. The Bush band came to power cursing government and its institutions as a sort of menace. But perhaps they were sincere about that. They’re delighted to see the Department of Justice go up in flames. And if the World Bank and the international financial system that it created, the baseline for the global economy, teeters and implodes, they’ll be cheering from the sidelines, too.

What really matters to men like Wolfowitz and Gonzales? The exercise of power. If it serves that end to destroy a world, by all means, let the destruction begin. This is scorched earth politics. Why would we expect anything different from a crew who seek to revive the notion of the “total war” with respect to a war of choice fought without a draft?