Bacevich says that both credo and trinity -- respectively, 'one defining purpose, the other defining practice' -- form the foundation of the American hegemonic MO it has adopted in its attempt to "govern and police" the so-called New American Century (or Caliphate), with the relationship between the two being "reciprocal" in that, 'The trinity lends plausibility to the credo's vast claims...[and] the credo justifies the trinity's vast requirements'. [My Emphasis].
Now of course a lot of dirty water has flowed under the bridge of US and world history in the fifty plus years since JFK delivered his 1963 American University address (See Part Two). To say the geopolitical landscape is far removed from his singular -- albeit still-born -- AU vision would be stating the obvious. But the "obvious" sometimes still bears repeating, especially when it comes to the 'obvious' place America finds itself in 2015. As George Orwell memorably noted , "We've now sunk to a depth at which stating the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men".
To reiterate, the shelf life of the American Empire is imminent. Maybe it won't happen 'officially' in our lifetime, but it is still imminent. And that's even without taking into account contemporary events and the very real possibilities that might result from these developments. There are many powerful, contributing forces at play here, and the following are worthy of mention.
The Forward March of Freedom (One Step Forward, Two Steps Back)
The difference then between George W Bush's somewhat vision impaired reality of the 'here and now' back in 2001 and Jack Kennedy's vision of the future almost four decades earlier could not have been more stark: Whereas Kennedy at least openly contemplated a path to presidential greatness via a Grand Peace, Bush like many presidents before him saw the only path to a glorious presidential legacy [was] through war, one he 'knew' the American people would support him in. What would be even better would be a permanent war.
As impaired as Bush's vision may have been though, one is tempted to suggest that his was the more pragmatic and realistic, and the one more in sync with America's true 'manifest destiny'. Kennedy's 1963 American University vision didn't stand a 'snowball's'! For a nation whose 'business model' -- as noted by George Kennan (see Part One) -- was/is based on the military, industrial and financial infrastructure and the accrued, collective and seemingly immutable hard power projection that is at once the rationale and foundation for it, it made perfect sense! What was there not to like?
Which is to say that in Dubya's case, one war wouldn't be enough; we have to have two or more of them, seemingly ignoring in the process, one of history's most valuable yet neglected lessons: Never fight more than one war at a time. And that only applies when you know who your enemy is, where to find him and how to kill him! By and large, the war on terror doesn't throw up such opportunities.
To underscore this dichotomy, the following may do the trick. Around sixty years after the D-Day landings and the Allies' invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe in June 1944, and around fourty years after JFK's AU address, in an address to Air Force Academy graduates in the summer of 2004, Bush unambiguously summed up his nouveau-imperial vision, the state of (his) empire and his brand of Pax Americana:
"Each of you receiving a commission today....will also carry the hopes of free people everywhere. As your generation assumes its own duties during a global conflict...you will be called upon to take brave action and serve with honor. In some ways this struggle we're in is unique. In other ways it resembles the great clashes of the last century between those who put their trust in tyrants, and those who put their trust in liberty, the goal of this generation is the same. We'll secure our nation and defend the peace through the forward march of freedom." [My Emphasis].
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