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Foreign aflais
‘AMERICA IS UNLIKELY TO GET MORE BENEVOLENT IN THE COMING YEARS'
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As the election looms, commentators are falling over their pens to chronicle America’s foreign policy. Allan Radcliffe rifles through the best exports.
epuincan journalist I’.l ()‘Rourke is the literary
cqui\alent ol‘ a wry polite shock jock. llis
characteristic blend ol' supercilious sneering and joyial irreyercncc (some people call it ‘wit'l somehow allows him to get away with outrageously crass obseryations. 'I'ake this _iocular gem l‘rom the opening chapter ol~ his collection l’t'ut't' Kills: :Inrt'rlt'u's ["1111 New l/li/it'l'itt/is‘m (Atlantic). in which the bestselling attthor del'ends elements ol' .-\merican foreign policy post ‘lll I. ‘('ritics say we didn‘t do enough thinking abottt the problem ol~ post-war Iraq. I say we blew the place to bits: w h;th the problem."
Later. the man I‘rom the B.-\ tell} adyerts is discoyercd poking caustic lun at some of the ['8‘ controyersial recent military misady'entures. IIc reyels in the fact that eyen the staunchest ol‘ liberals seemed gung-ho about the conflict in Kosoyo. He draws attention to the ‘blink- and-you‘ye—missed-it‘ breyity ol’ the :\l'ghan bombing catnpaign. In the extended section on Kuwait and Iraq. ().i{tllll'i\L‘ describes his Visit to one oi. Saddam Hussein‘s palaces l'oIIow'ing the ‘Iiberation' ol‘ Baghdad. stilliin concluding that ‘II‘ a reason to inyade Iraq was wanted. l'elony interior decorating would haye done.‘
'I'ypically. the strongest sections are those in which O'Rourke carefully and disdainl‘ully picks apart certain ot‘ the wooIlier liberal arguments. This is most amusineg illustrated by the chapter entitled ‘Nobel
Sentiments‘ in which he l'lies a linguistic daisy-cutter
through a \apid public statement signed by Ill?» Nobel laureates calling lor an end to world conflicts.
()ther current publications dealing with the global el‘l‘ects ol‘ .-\merican foreign policy will make uneasy
30 THE LIST Outs-1 i\
sItelli-l'eIIow‘s with l’t'ut't' Kills. ()‘Rourkc himsell‘ shirks l‘rom an outright defence ol' the brtttal goings-on in (’uba's (iuantanamo Bay and. reading journalist I)a\id Rose's shocking indictment ol‘ the ‘Iegal black hole and the inhuman treatment ol' its inhabitants. it‘s not hard to see why. (iiiunrununm tI-aberl draws on intery iew's with
l‘ormer British inmates ol~ (’amp .\'-Ray. the majority oi
whom arriyed in (‘uba l'rom .-\l‘ghanistan and other countries haying committed no greater crime than being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong shade oi~ skill.
()‘Rourke. you l‘eel. would pour scorn on the kiss-and- tcll exposition ol' Richard :\ ('lat'kc’s Against All lint'niit's: Instr/U :lntt'rit'u's Hill“ on 'li'rrnr lI'irec I’t'cssl. ('larke. the man responsible l‘or ('Iinton and Btish‘s counter terrorism. sensationally' outlines some l‘undamental l‘oreign policy errors including Iran- (‘ontra. and the failure by successiye governments to take the threat posed by Al-Qaeda set'iotisly.
(‘Iarke‘s book is by turns insightl‘ul. page-turning and l‘ascinating. as is Blood and Oil: How .-Init'rit'u's 'I'liirxl
for l’t’lml Is Killing ('s (Hamish Hamilton) by Michael
Klarc. While Klare proposes changes to energy policies the quest lot oil is likely to be the driying force behind l'uture conflicts. The oyerriding impression you‘re left with is that. regardless of what side of the political diyide you fall on. .-\merican l‘oreign policy is unlikely to get more benevolent in the coming years.
Against All Enemies out now; Guantanamo published on Thu 21 Oct; Peace Kills published on Mon 25 Oct; Blood and Oil published on Mon 1 Nov.
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' EVENTS
:2: Carol Ann Duffy A selection of two poetry collections in one stanza-like splurge from the Glasgow- born scribe with her New Selected Poems being the pick of the pair. See review. Picador.
:2: John Bemrose There were plenty of folk tipping The Island Walkers for a slot on the Booker shortlist. but to no avail. That shouldn‘t stop you getting out to snap up this vivid tale of 19608 smalltown Canada. See review. John Murray.
:2: David Rose This journo’s dissection of the horrors in Guantanamo are as vital as they are vicious. See preview, Iefl.Faber
=2: Joe Sacco With his third slab of comic book reportage. Joe Sacco gives us The Fixer. a bold attempt at some kind of explanation for the horrors of the Balkans. See review. Jonathan Cape.
:2: Tim Kreider Coming on like a visual Chuck Palahniuk. The Pain is not for the PC crowd. See review. Fantagraphics.
:2: Richard Holloway The former Bishop of Edinburgh (pictured) always makes for interesting discourse. His latest work, Looking in the Distance, is a highly intelligent examination of modern spirituality. Waterstone's. Glasgow, Tue 26 Oct.
*- Alexander McCall Smith The massively successful local lad done amazing will be in conversation about his latest book, The Sunday PhilOSOphy Club. the start of a new series of books set in Scotland as opposed to his more familiar Zimbabwe-based detective series. Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Mon 7 Nov.