Viagra and NATO: Happy
Anniversary?
By Nancy Snow
April 19, 1999
On March 27,
1999, Viagra, the impotence pill, celebrated the 1st anniversary of its FDA approval
for public usage in the United States. On April 4, 1999, NATO, the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization, commemorated its 50th anniversary as a military
defense organization originally designed to "keep America in, the Russians out
and the Germans down," but now waging an offensive war against a non-NATO member,
Serbia. As we commemorate the creation of an impotence pill and question
the potency (or impotency) of a military alliance, let us consider what else these
strange bedfellows have in common.
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Both promote
technological quick-fix solutions. The standard argument for militarily
striking Kosovo is that NATO could not just stand by as atrocities continue. It
had no choice but to act. NATO's action plan is one of violent and technologically-driven
options that garner little risk (so far) for the striking NATO forces from the
air but increasing "collateral damage" (loss of civilian life) for those on the
ground. An alternative action plan is the Hippocratic principle that states:
"First, do no harm." Diplomacy, negotiations, and other nonviolent relationship-building
measures fall under this principle. These are more difficult, long-term
solutions because they require stepping outside macho simplifications of might
= right. These proactive options are not even on the table for consideration.
Likewise, Viagra promotes a quick-fix, perhaps even miracle cure for sexual dysfunction,
when other factors such as exercise, a better diet, and a higher quality of life
(including having a close circle of friends) may also impact performance and improve
the intimacy of couples in the long-term.
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Both are
controlled by leaders in lobbying. Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, spent $10
million lobbying Congress in 1997, in part to successfully drive out competition
from cheaper generic drugs. Loss of access to cheaper drugs is estimated
to cost consumers as much as $550 million a year. NATO is a showcase for
defense and aerospace industries that are targeting new overseas markets for their
wares. NATO's post-Cold War policy of "enlargement" (I'm not kidding here)
includes marketing American-based weaponry to former Soviet satellite countries.
Raytheon, maker of the Tomahawk cruise missile that is directly illustrating its
performance prowess in Serbia, expects a huge windfall in profits from increased
Pentagon spending surrounding NATO's military action. As Washington Post
reporter John Mintz writes, "War may be hell, but in Washington, it's also a lobbying
opportunity." (See WP, A-17, 4/17/99) (I might add that hellish war is also
costly: each Tomahawk cruise missile costs $750,000.)
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Both are
designed to enhance relationships. Viagra commercials show dancing couples embracing
lovingly. The crisis in Kosovo will either strengthen the "marriage" of
19 member countries of NATO or break it up, just at the time when it has accepted
three countries - Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic, into its family. These
three come with a hefty dowry-their full NATO membership is conditioned on their
ability to update their military arsenal to western, American-defined standards,
a fact not lost on the lobbying arms of Boeing, Raytheon, and McDonnell-Douglas.
Despite the extended family, NATO must now commemorate its 50th "wedding" anniversary
as it faces its first mid-life crisis in Kosovo.
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Both are
interventions that produce adverse side effects. Viagra's drug intervention
has been linked to over 100 deaths in the US. NATO's military intervention has
exacerbated a humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo, killed fleeing Albanian refugees,
coalesced power around the Serbian president and "strongman," Slobodan Milosevic,
and stopped dissidence and political opposition dead in its tracks. Don't
count on Pfizer or NATO's spokespeople to showcase these dysfunctions.
NATO bombing is as quick and easy an option as taking a little blue pill.
It comes against the backdrop of a recent United Nations resolution declaring
the first decade of the 21st century as a "decade of nonviolence for the children
of the world." The warning label for Viagra reads: "Keep Viagra out
of the reach of children. Viagra is not for newborns, children or women."
NATO should heed this warning and stop the bombing now.
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Nancy
Snow teaches politics and international relations at New England College in Henniker,
New Hampshire, and is the author of Propaganda, Inc.: Selling America's Culture
to the World (Seven Stories Press).
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