One person is responsible for all of this blood around us: George W. Bush. I am a graduate of an American high school, an American university, and have been around Americans, befriending them and being educated by them, since early childhood. Some of my best friends, colleagues, and teachers, are American. I have always been defensive of the USA, upholding the ideals of democracy and human rights I had learned as a child, until the intifada broke out in 2000. Since then, it has become increasingly difficult for me to defend America, due to its impartial policies vis-à-vis the Arab-Israeli Conflict. Now, President Bush has killed whatever room I had left to support the USA. What can I tell my fellow Arabs, about the Bill of Rights and 10th Amendment, when they see the harshest abuse of human rights at Abu Ghurayb Prison, on the front page of world newspapers, carried out by none other than Bush’s US Army? How will anyone believe them and their “crusade” for democracy, when a dictatorship, no different from that of Saddam Hussein, is being practiced in Iraq? The margin for defending the USA, for American-educated Arabs like myself, is shrinking down to comically low levels. Pretty soon, it will evaporate, and there will no longer be moderates like myself in the Arab World to defend America. All the USA will find is radicals like Osama Bin Laden. The moderates will be silenced but by the malpractices of George W. Bush. Ghassan Charbil described this situation in the London-based al-Hayat as being World War III, claiming that at no time since World War II ended in 1946 has the world been so violent. This is very true, and a parallel can easily be drawn between the outbreak of WWII and the current WWIII. On another level, one can compare Adolph Hitler to George W. Bush in more than one manner.

First, one must remember that the Bush family has done its favors to Adolph Hitler and the Nazi regime in Germany. Bush’s grandfather, Prescott Bush, and his great-grandfather Herbert Walker, managed several companies operating as a front for Nazi interests in the USA during the mid-1930s. In October 1942, at the height of WWII, the US government seized the Bush-run Union Banking Company (UBC), and W. A. Harriman & Company, accusing them of representing Nazi Germany in the USA. Also seized were the Holland-American Trading Cooperation, the Seamless Steel Equipment Cooperation, and the Silesian-American Cooperation, all run by Prescott Bush. They were condemned as financial and commercial collaboration with the enemy, accused of laundering money for the Nazis. More assets were seized by President Franklin Roosevelt, in the Trading with the Enemy Act of November 17, 1942. This is identical with a law, passed by President Bush after 9-11, freezing the assets of several companies accused of working undercover for al-Qaeda in the USA. No wonder where Bush got his idea from!

Hitler was appointed chancellor (through intimidation) in 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg, because he had not received a majority in parliament, while Bush was also appointed president in 2001, by the Supreme Court, having also not received a majority in the presidential elections, and been accused, along with his brother, Jeb Bush, of fraud in Florida. At the time, Jeb Bush compiled a false list of felons for US citizens wishing to vote for Al Gore in Florida, thereby preventing them from voting. At first, Hitler promising to institute reforms in Germany and lead a democracy, just like Bush, who promised to uphold the ideals of American democracy. Since coming to power, however, both men gave their people a real dose of dictatorship, greatly suppressing civil liberties. Bush’s dictatorial instinct emerged early on, during a meeting with congressional leaders on Capitol Hill on December 18, 2000, where as president-elect, he foolishly, yet honestly, blurted: “If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I am the dictator!” Upon coming to power in 1933, Hitler cried foul play, claiming that his country had been wronged by the unjust Versailles Treaty after WWI, while Bush was also, crying foul play, claiming that his country had been wronged and targeted on 9-11 and should retaliate or face destruction. Most striking is the burning of the Reichstag, the German Parliament, by “terrorists” on February 27, 1933, and the September 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon in America, also conducted by “terrorists.” Back then, the Nazis unleashed a “war on terror” against practically everyone—the communists, the opposition, the trade unions, the Jews, the homosexuals; everyone but themselves. They invested in a terrified population, cracking down on civil liberties, and familiarizing German society with police measures that were “needed” to protect the security of Germany and ensure that similar attacks do not occur once again. Hitler passed the Enabling Act, which permitted the suppression of civil liberties in times of war and national emergency. After 9-11, Bush passed the Patriotic Act, carrying very similar clauses to the Enabling Act of Hitler. The parliament event came as a blessing in disguise, enabling Hitler to pursue his leftist agenda, building-up his war machine, and silencing the opposition. It was commonly believed in Germany that the Nazis had torched the Reichstag themselves, to justify wide-scale persecution. Most widely accused were Hitler’s men Herman Goering, the speaker of parliament, and Joseph Goebbels, his Minister of Propaganda. Whenever people pointed out hat Germany was becoming too-much of a police state in 1933-1939, Hitler would remind them of the burning of the Reichstag. This is similar to how Bush has not failed, on every single occasion, to remind critics of the horror the USA faced on 9-11. Of course, the Republicans did not conduct 9-11, but they certainly invested in it, just like Hitler invested in the burning of the Reichstag. Hitler’s henchman Herman Goering said it bluntly after the Nazi regime was toppled in 1945, speaking at the Nuremberg Trials, "Why of course the people don't want war. But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger." That is exactly what George W. Bush did after 9-11.

In his autobiography, Mein Kampf, Hitler says that he wants Germany to “dominate” the world, while Bush said the same vis-à-vis the USA. The Fuhrer promised to bring a better life to those coming under jurisdiction of the Third Reich, while Bush made similar promises in the world order he created after 9-11. The bloody situation in Afghanistan and Iraq prove how wrong he was, just like the misery of Austria, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, proved Adolph Hitler wrong during WWII. Hitler’s men practiced very brutal and merciless torture against their prisoners, identical to those making headlines today in Abu Ghurayb Prison in Baghdad. The similarities between the concentration camp at Auschwitz and the torture at Abu Ghurayb are very alarming. When watching the horrendous photos of the naked Iraqi prisoners last week, I could not help remember the pictures of Jews, standing naked side-by-side, as they prepared to march into Hitler’s gas chambers. Likewise, they are no different from Bush’s concentration camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. One should also study the rhetoric of both leaders to see the striking resemblance between them. Hitler called Germany the “homeland” while Bush called America the “homeland” and after 9-11, he created the Department of Homeland Security, instead of naming it, the Department of American Security. The term “homeland” to those familiar with Nazi rhetoric, is very much quoted by Hitler. On terrorism, Hitler says: “An evil exists that threatens every man, woman and child of this great nation. We must take steps to insure our domestic security and protect our homeland!” Bush said; “There's no bigger task than protecting the homeland of our country against terrorism.” Hitler adds, addressing countries occupied by Nazi Germany, “Not as tyrants have we come, but as liberators!” Bush, seemingly echoing the same words, said to the Iraqis in 2003, “We come not as conquerors, but as liberators!” Hitler claimed supremacy of the Aryan race, while Bush claimed supremacy of US democracy. In his memoirs, Hitler said, “I am convinced that I am acting as the agent of our Creator. I am doing the Lord’s work.” Nearly 70 years later, Bush echoed him once again, saying: “God told me to strike at al-Qaeda, and I struck at them. He instructed me to strike at Saddam Hussein, which I did. And now I am determined to solve the problem of the Middle East!”

Before becoming leaders of their respective countries, both Bush and Hitler were utter failures in life. Hitler, however, poor and underprivileged, lived the life of a homeless tramp, becoming a street painter to earn a living, while Bush lived off the wealth, connections, and easy-life of the Bush family. He demonstrated no business smartness, no academic excellence, and often drifted aimlessly in life. The fact that he was a Harvard graduate has been debated by many in the USA, and his spontaneous outbursts, along with discussions during his presidential campaign, confirm that the man is not very smart. For the record, at the time, Bush was asked live on a Boston TV station to name the leaders of four countries currently in the news; Chechnya, Taiwan, India, and Pakistan. He got one out of four right, Taiwan, and even then, only remembered Lee Tung-Hui’s first name! Red-faced, he told reporters the next day that although he failed the quiz on TV, he was “plenty smart!” Apparently, Bush’s political knowledge, and grammar, proved that he was not the well-polished graduate of Harvard University that the White House claims him to be. He certainly lacks the cunning of his father, the charm of Bill Clinton, or the popularity of Ronald Reagan. This is very similar to Hitler, who likewise, demonstrated no business smartness, no academic excellence, and often drifted aimlessly in life, especially in Vienna while trying his luck as a painter before WWI. Bush came to power with forceful support from US businessmen and industrialists of the arms-business, boasting of a stunning $77 million in campaign contributions. Likewise, Hitler came to power in 1933 with the support of German industrialists working in the arms business. He promised to re-arm Germany, shaking off the much hated Versailles Treaty and the Weimar Republic, and thereby, enrich them with lots of profitable contracts with the German government. When he began to invade Europe, Hitler declared his policy of Lebensraum, meaning, territorial expansion for Germany. This expansion was needed, he claimed, to acquire raw material, manpower, and money for the re-creation of the German empire. In this sense, Bush was also, seeking modern Lebensraum. Coming in different context, however, Bush’s Lebensraum (in today’s globalized world), is also needed for the political and economic expansion of the USA.

Both Hitler and Bush were undaunted by the world order when they decided to pursue expansionist policies. Bush ignored the UN, all domestic opposition, all Arab resentment, and all reports from the UN inspectors, affirming that there were no WMDs in Iraq. The pressure of countries like France, the USSR, and Germany were also, easily ignored by Bush, so were the 170 countries that opposed his war at the UN, compared to the measly 30 that supported him. Likewise, Hitler ignored the League of Nations, all domestic opposition, and all European resentment. Hitler mockingly called the League of Nations a pazifistische schwatzbude, meaning “pacifists chattering club” while Bush mockingly said that the United Nations is nothing but a “debating club!” In 1936, Hitler militarized the Rhineland, northeast of France, in defiance of the League of Nations and the Versailles Treaty, and turned a deaf ear to all criticism. Seeing that the world order was too weak, and afraid, to say no to him, he was encouraged to become more aggressive, invading Austria in March 1938 and annexing it to Germany. Hitler invested in a weak Neville Chamberlain, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, who wanted to appease Nazi Germany, while Bush invested in a weak Kofi Anan, who was unable and unwilling to oppose the USA. Both Anan and Chamberlain hoped that Bush and Hitler would carry out their invasion, get it over with, and stop their expansionist policies. Both of them, apparently, were wrong. Bush and Hitler pretended to listen to the world leaders after invasion # 1, hearing out their proposals, but at the end of the day, carried on with their war policies. Hitler found a weak international community after his interlude in the Rhineland, a relatively easy target, while Bush found a weak international community after his occupation of Afghanistan, another relatively easy target. Bush, like Hitler before him, came to believe that he could do whatever he pleases, since nobody in the world was able, or willing, to stop him. The scenario that led up to Hitler’s invasion of Czechoslovakia, compared to the one that led to Bush’s invasion of Iraq, is also, alarmingly similar. Among other things, Hitler claimed that the Czechs were oppressing 3 million Germans living in the Sudetenland, accusing Czechoslovakia of being a dictatorship, and of badly treating the minorities (in reference to Germans). Over 60 years later, Bush fired similar accusations against Iraq, accusing it of being a dictatorship, and of badly treating the minorities (in reference to the Kurds and Shiites). In the summer of 1938, Hitler demanded that the Sudetenland be given self-rule, just as Bush demanded that the Kurds be given self-rule in Iraq. In September 1938, at the famous Munich Conference, he promised French Prime Minister Edward Daladier and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain that he would have no further territorial ambitions in Europe, and as a result, they let him annex the Sudetenland, hoping that appeasement would satisfy his thirst for territory. He surprised them all when six months later, his army marched into all of Czechoslovakia and occupied it. Again, this is similar to Bush’s promises at the UN after the war on Afghanistan, where he promised the world not to pursue needless warfare, and earned international recognition for the offensive he had committed against Afghanistan. Once getting the international community in his pocket, through their policy of appeasement, he sent his army marching into Iraq. On September 1, 1939, Adolph Hitler went one step further, however, and occupied Poland, officially igniting World War II. Hitler ignited WWII by making 4 invasions in 3 years; Bush has done that by making 2 invasions 3 years! Hitler’s gambling, and his love for military might and expansionist policies, led to the destruction of Germany, and the senseless killing of thousands of Germans in warfare. We hope that Bush’s gambling and his love for military might and expansionist policies, will not lead to the destruction of America, and the senseless killing of thousands of Americans. It has already claimed many of them, once again very senselessly, in Afghanistan and Iraq. Bush has single-handily tarnished the image of the “great and democratic USA,” destroying everything carefully created by his predecessors since the end of WWII. The White House under Bush is no longer white—it has become a Black House, assuming the dark, evil, and dangerous hallmark that colored state institutions of the Third Reich. If anything, the parallel between Hitler and Bush reminds us of the words of Karl Marx, where he said that when history repeats itself, the first time its tragedy, the second time, it is farce!

Damascus
May 10, 2004.