Since the Iraq War began, the United States has had a diminished role in world diplomacy. Meanwhile the rest of the world has chugged along, taking great advantage of Uncle Sam’s present status, ankle-deep in bloody dessert sand, and manipulated the distracted Bush White House to their advantage. This weekend proved how dramatically weak the U.S. President has become.
No one has taken greater advantage of this than Russian President, Vladamir Putin, who has returned strength and authority to his office. He’s limited the once free press, bullied opposition into hiding, even been accused of having a rival poisoned with radioactive material (remember that story?), all the while he grows more powerful by the day. Last week Putin checked Bush’s plan to install anti-ballistic-missile systems in former Soviet countries, by announcing Russia’s departure from the 1990 Conventional Weapons Treaty that limited the use of heavy conventional weapons in Europe. It is, a slap at Bush and a slap at Europe, who have become increasingly critical of Russia’s backslide toward a strongman government.
Yesterday Putin triumphed in a national election that put his party firmly in control and set the stages for Putin to establish lifetime rule, despite the fact he is compelled to step down next year due to term limits. Many in Europe are calling the election “riggedâ€, some in the Bush Administration too, have made critical remarks, however Bush remains largely limp on the issue of Putin. Remember this is a guy that said Putin was “a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country,†further adding “I was able to get a sense of his soul.†Wait! Bush got it wrong? That’s just not possible! After all the man talks to God, so didn’t the big man warn ol’ W. that Putin was planing to reassert Russia’s strategic world power position? Maybe the head honcho upstairs just assumed Bush would have the intellect to figure it out for himself.
Today’s Quik-Linx
Brilliant commentator and respected journalist Daniel Schorr, whose weekly NPR commentaries are the highlight of the broadcast, gave a fitting observation of the recent election. Schorr always knows when, where and how to cut right into the heart of an issue. He makes a lot of complex issues, simple by using plain old-fashioned common sense and using something rarely employed by the news media today, brains. You can find the story, here.
China, India, The E.U. and Russia all see themselves as the next United States. Many see the U.S. as past its prime and too self absorbed to lead the world in the new millennium. The upcoming election will be the true test of American intelligence. Will we have the stomach left to rise to the challenge, or have we traded away all that was uniquely American for a fast buck? My guess is that you can’t count America out yet. We do our best work when facing the greatest challenge. Maybe we’re just waiting for the rest of the world to give us a run for our money. We’ll if you asked me that time has arrived.
The days of talking like we’re the only sheriff in town are over, and thankfully, the reign of this crooked Gary Cooper wannabe is coming to an end as well.
