Interview • 14 September 2003

Once upon a time in America

With fair attributes for the American Presidency not in high demand these days, MATTHEW VELLA meets US Ambassador Anthony Gioia for some kind words on George W.
The tranquil suburban lull at Villa Apap Bologna in Hal-Balzan is under secure guard. An army soldier decked in bullet-proof vest flusters as to why we have come to the American Ambassador’s residence instead of the embassy itself for an interview. Painful moments later of convincing that our destination is right, a security guard arrives to tell us we are expected. Our bags inspected, we are told to switch off our mobiles. In post 9/11 world, even electromagnetic fields can be lethal.
Inside the American residence, background music, lush carpeting and furry felines are a postcard of ambassadorial glory. A sore point is the bland Luciano Micallef dabble showing the star-spangled banner and the Maltese flags intertwined in a hopeless representation of eternal unity. The butler who ushers us in points with satisfaction at the photos of President Bush, Bush padre and Colin Powell. There’s Anthony Gioia in all of them, and so are his wife, children and grandchildren.
The former pasta magnate enters the room, hand outstretched in greeting. I ask Gioia about his ‘close’ friendship with the Bush family. "I think that’s a bit of an overstatement," he says, "I certainly know the Bushes. We have close, common friends. I can say that I am a great admirer of President Bush. He is a very engaging and warm person. There’s a phrase that has been used by more than one individual that describes the President: he is very comfortable in his own skin. He’s at peace with himself. He makes decisions intelligently, honestly. He always surrounds himself with good people. And he will listen to other points of view before taking the final decision. He is a very fair and honest man. He’s got a tremendous intellectual integrity. He really wants to do the right thing. I have great respect for him."
And he certainly does. According to the Washington - based center for responsive poitics, during the 2001 presidential campaign, Gioia was a member of Bush’s national finance committee. During the 1999/2000 election cycle, Gioia contributed $25,850 to Republican candidates and party committees, including $3,000 to the Bush campaign and a $5,000 contribution to the Bush-Cheney recount fund. His lone contribution to the Democrats was $1,000 to NY incumbent Representative John J. LaFalce. His wife Donna, contributed a total of $6,561 in 1999/2000, all to Republicans.
"I think the President will be re-elected because of his overall leadership, both for the American people and for his leadership in the world. When the economy started to flounder well before he got elected, he managed to take decisive steps to address the situation. He’s in this for the long haul and won’t be consumed with polls and numbers to decide what to do. He’s going to do what he believes is in the interest of the American people and the world at large."
In his first stint at diplomacy, Gioia’s ambassadorship comes at one of the most crucial and anxious of ages of world history, replete with smoking guns, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), terrorist ‘folks’ and a myriad of rogue nations all under America’s lens: "It has certainly been challenging. Anyone living in the post 9/11 era expected to see diplomacy becoming a different form of challenge. In this sense of relevancy, you feel that you are doing something really important. Not that my previous life in the private sector was boring, but in terms of dealing with substantive issues where you have an impact on certain decisions, you do get the chance to implement and explain US policy and get the feedback from governments and individuals on this policy."
His stay on the island has also been a pleasant one so far: "I have been very positively impressed with my experience in Malta. It has been such a wonderful experience for me and my wife. The Maltese people have been engaging, warm and courteous. And the island is gorgeous, compared to Buffalo it has some fantastic weather. This has been a great honour for me and my family. The Maltese people certainly take their politics seriously, what with the percentage of voters during elections and their knowledge of the subject matter. I admire the Maltese people: they are engaged, they care, they contribute, they make their views known. That’s a positive thing."
We are talking a day left to the second anniversary of the attack on New York’s Twin Towers, notoriously remembered as 9/11, singularly the defining moment that diverted Bush’s return to a more isolationist foreign policy. Gioia had only just arrived in Malta as ambassador, not even thirty days into his diplomatic mission on September 11:
"I was at the embassy that day," Gioia recalls, "and I got a call from someone telling me to turn on CNN. As the events unfolded people came in my office, collecting in the room to see what was going on. It was obviously a tremendous experience." Gioia, naturally, blames the al Qaeda terrorists for 9/11, but that it is the least to expect from any American today. What is more striking is the evocation of the Manichean worldview that many believe is characterising this ‘clash of civilisations.’
"They are more than just the enemies of America. They are the enemies of the civilised world, the enemies of all freedom-loving people. Look at the way these terrorists treat their women and their civilians. They’re brutal, they’re murderers. And it isn’t just America they are after. Subsequent terrorist bombings by al Qaeda in places like Bali, Jakarta, Mombasa, and Casablanca, all with large Muslim populations, show that the terrorists are indiscriminate in their choice of targets and victims. As I’ve said before, none of us will be safe from terrorism until we are all safe from it."
I ask Gioia if 9/11 was a natural reaction to American over-involvement and belligerence: "I don’t think that at all. This was the work of a small, sick terrorist group that was intent on destroying what America stands for – freedom, liberty, democracy, prosperity, the rights of individuals. Look at their behaviour, look at how they conduct their affairs. Look at how al Qaeda and the Taliban treat their people. They are envious of us, they hate to see us as a role model because it destroys their sick view of the world."
America’s war on terrorism has since 9/11 developed into a frantic search for smoking guns in Iraq, a naughty friend of America’s since 1979 when the US armed Saddam Hussein to battle Khomeini’s Iran. Since the Kuwaiti invasion in 1991, Saddam has been a thorn in America’s side for both Bush senior and Bill Clinton.
"Our policy and goal has always been to turn Iraq over to the Iraqi people as soon as we can. As President Bush said, we will be staying for as long as it takes to do the job but not a day longer. This will give the Iraqi people a chance to run their own destiny. Obviously, we want to fight terrorism since terrorists seem to be coming in Iraq. So we have to stabilise the country. I am gratified we have the support of 29 other countries in our Iraqi campaign."
Since the coalition’s invasion was not sanctioned by the UN Security Council through the French veto, I ask Gioia if America is planning to extend its war against terrorism, WMDs, and rogue nations right all across the world, dipping its army boots in Africa, Asia and South America, and other countries such as North Korea, visibly the smiling face of nuclear holocaust, and certainly bellowing darker plumes of smoke than Iraq ever did. Signs of double standards?
"There are some people who think we should be involved in more countries, others in less. This administration has worked hard to pick up spots in which it would be most effective. We have certainly used diplomacy with respect to North Korea. We had some military action when we tried to help Liberia stabilise. In terms of Iraq, the US and its coalition partners felt that a regime change was of vital importance.
"There are other rogue nations with which we have not taken the same steps as we did with Iraq, that’s true. But let’s keep in mind that this is a guy (Saddam) who developed WMDs, who had WMDs, who did a pretty poor job of convincing anyone that he got rid of them, and who attacked his own people using WMDs and two other nations, Iran and Kuwait. So this was an exceptional case where the action taken was justified by the circumstances. There was no other case up to this point which deserved this same kind of attention.
"I’m certainly not convinced that there will not be WMDs found. I think there is the basic evidence that they are there. We knew Iraq had a certain amount of WMDs after 1991 and that they destroyed some of them, so by definition they must be there. Iraq has done an awful lot to hide things – we found jet fighters buried in the sand and many regime members have given evasive answers to questions in fear that Saddam returns."
Gioia says he is not willing to say that WMDs will be found, but flusters: "I think they will be found, maybe in a slightly different form. But I am quite convinced they will be found and that the issue will be proved to be correct."
"With respect to North Korea, we are concerned about the nuclear threat the country is providing. Clearly, our first choice is not to go to war. but diplomacy. War is always the last resort. We are engaging and working with the North Koreans and the international community. Our issue is not to go to war with Korea but to denuclearise the Korean peninsula and we are working very hard in that regard."
The Bush administration’s latest endeavour since Iraq has been Africa, in the first visit ever to the continent by a Republican president. Critics have lambasted plans to increase US influence in the continent with the promise of cash funds, but despite being one of the most unattractive presidencies, Bush Jnr has been most forthcoming in promises to inject over $13 billion in the fight against AIDS:
"President Bush has put his money where his mouth is," Gioia says, "He has offered $15 billion in aid for AIDS much of which will go to Africa. He has also put out a $5 billion aid pledge for countries which perform good governmental practices. There’s no point in throwing away money on corrupt governments. The US is saying ‘if you do this and this we will help you’ but we will not let any country squander a blank cheque as their people starve. But President Bush is not just helping Africa by window-dressing. He wants African countries to meet him somewhere. We want to give these countries a fishing rod so they can feed themselves for life."
Certainly no window-dresser, George W. has his own way to let countries know what America wants, such as discontinuing foreign military spending to signatories of the International Criminal Court, Malta included, a former beneficiary of over $5 million in non-proliferation and anti-terrorism funds.
"Basically, the ICC is flawed," Gioia says about the international prosecution court that would have the power to prosecute war criminals, and which according to article 98 of the ICC, does not allow separate agreements between countries to avoid criminal prosecution of nationals. "The ICC can be a potential loose cannon. It only takes two judges to indict people who may not be signatories to the agreement. This is not a good way to police bad behaviour on the part of militaries and government.
"The US is the country that really does a lot of policing in the world, so we are more susceptible to these kinds of politically-pressured situations. Look at what’s going on in Belgium. They have indicted Tommy Franks, they went after former President Bush, and Henry Kissinger as well. This is not a situation we can accept. The same people who put Cuba and Iran on a human rights commission are capable of other things. It just isn’t fair play. When our soldiers are out there in harm’s way trying to make the world a safer place we are not going to allow them to be subject to political games."
And that is American resolve, purely the incarnation of realpolitik in the form of the world’s strongest economic and military force. For Gioia, the critics who denounce America’s extensive involvement in world affairs, are a sign of the penalty America pays "to be the country we are." For the fledgling diplomat, the world is a better place because of US policy and idealism: "In a broad sense America is looking to create a more stable, free world. The priorities are to fight terrorism wherever we find it, to stand by justice and to perpetuate and promote the American way of life. Even Malta subscribes to these basic values and freedoms. I think America’s own multicultural tradition shows we have a history of tolerance. It’s not perfect, but it’s damn good."