GW Bush in the Ring of Fire

Ring of fire usually invokes Johnny Cash, volcanos and earthquakes. But in this case it involves GW Bush's incredibly inept six-year journey from a relatively stable international situation, to an environment where he is surrounded by those who are increasingly hostile to America. Bush has centered himself with fires on each point of the compass. To the South he has the raging Leftist Latinos in Central and South America and his permissive massive invasion by Mexican illegal aliens. To the East, the exploding Middle Eastern situation where he has placed his men in mortal combat. In the North, the big Russian Bear is back on the prowl and now has stood up to lunge at America. From his Western shores he faces a nuclear North Korea and a Red China that is increasingly becoming more powerful economicaly and militarily. This threat in magnitude and diversity did not exist before the advent of GW Bush and his band of bunglers. It is obvious they do not know what they are doing.

Bush built a bonfire in Iraq with his elective war. To his dismay, the conflagration spread to a sweeping prairie fire and then to a raging forest fire while he and his generals bit their fingernails and pretended it was a controlled burn. By now a majority of Americans has figured out what the rest of the world knew all along: the US ostensibly went to war in Iraq to knock off Saddam Inc. and to plant the flag of a weird form of Christian democracy among the Muslim Arabs and Shiites. These goals have been accomplished long ago, as best the US was able... But according to General Dempsey, who is in charge of training Iraqi security forces, the US must now stay to insure that the democracy survives through another four-year election cycle in Iraq.

GW Bush has not scrapped his plans to create a massive US enclave in the Middle East. He still intends to build the largest US embassy in the world in Baghdad with plans to station US troops permanently in Iraq. The US military installations, built with funds earmarked for reconstruction, are not sand bagged fire bases a la Vietnam, but permanent concrete protected forts and airfields with amenities. Bush's failure to provide security for the Iraqis has resulted in massive refugee problems that caused major problems for Iraq's neighbors – it so bad that Bush now wants to send Iraqi refugees to the US; first increment is about 7,000 people. As if the US does not have enough internal security problems, he intends to augment the Islamic population in the US... He might want to ask his bosom buddy Tony Blair about that since Tony has a ragged terror experience with this minority in the UK. If they come in, they all should go to Crawford, Texas or Kennebunkport, Maine where Family Bush has spreads. Despite US bases all over the Middle East and an over aggressive Israeli ally, Bush still wants an Iraqi fiefdom, but for that to happen he must bleed more, spend more, and engage Iran. That is another war.

East North East on Bush's ring of fire is Afghanistan: an ever expanding bonfire that is blowing sparks throughout the nation and igniting the countryside. Bush's fire brigade is composed of NATO forces, many of whom prefer not to engage in combat. Bush has recently sent a brigade of reinforcements while his allies fret and drag their feet. If the Russians and British could not subdue the country, fat chance a stressed NATO will; as long as bin Laden and Taliban Mullah Omar are on the loose, forget about stability or victory in that part of the world.

The Norte Americanos or the gringos have never been beloved by the Latinos, so it is no surprise that anti-American regimes pop up from time to time; they usually rise and fall on economic realities. Most of these countries have had some degree of turmoil or anarchy since Spain and later Simon Bolivar left town. There is an altered situation that has developed under GW Bush that presents another set of circumstances that do not bode well for American interests south of the border. Prior to Bush, the situation was held together by the threat of a foggy Monroe doctrine or carrots and sticks. In the end, US Marine Corps and the 82nd Airborne Division kept the political pot from tipping over – the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Grenada and Panama being the latest military interventions by US.

The quantum difference under Bush is that an economically powerful left wing Chavez in Venezuela was permitted to develop; Red China, Russia and even Iran are now playing big time in that arena. Russia has sold massive amounts of small arms and military aircraft to Chavez. Red China controls the Panama Canal and economically backstops leftist governments in Bolivia and Ecuador. Even Sandinista Noriega is back in power in Nicaragua. Iran has some kind of covert oil deal with Venezuela in the event the US Iran war balloon goes up. CITGO oil, owned by Venezuela, offers a 40% discount on heating oil to the US in 16 states – if you need this oil, call Joe Kennedy and he will make the arrangements – as advertised on MEET THE PRESS last Sunday. Don't you just love those Kennedys? Under any circumstances, Venezuelan oil will be used to light fires in Latino lands and even the USA. The unprotected US border is changing the whole concept of America as both opportunist Democrats and Republicans refuse to stop a naked breach in the border we share with Mexico.

Red China has penetrated the US market big time causing an enormous balance of payments in its favor. All this is with GW Bush's blessing. It is called globalization. Apart from its aggressive role in Latin America, Red China is remorselessly building its military power, demonstrated a few weeks ago by a shoot down of a space satellite. Its ground, air and navy forces, now with missile capabilities, are modernized and expanding. From time to time it is assisted by Russia who supplies military equipment and conducts combined military operations. In the first days of his administration, Bush made a terrible mistake when he condoned Red China's illegal shoot down of an American recon aircraft over international waters. Bush has never recovered from that blunder, as the Chinese have continued to press him against the wall on trade and military involvement. The Clinton administration passed missile technology to them, but did bomb their embassy in Belgrade during the Balkan war; too bad Clinton apologized. Bush finally made a stop gap deal with the North Koreans on nuclear weapons with provisions close to what Clinton signed, but later later backfired. The Bush administration claims it is a better deal because it is multilateral. Bush's former UN Rep. John Bolton disagrees publicly with this statement. His hair and mustache are on fire over the issue – just one more fire for Bush. What the hell!

Perhaps the most regrettable diplomatic debacle for Bush is with Russia. Even ex-President HW Bush, despite his misguided invasion of Kuwait and his wobbly stand on tax raises, knew enough to keep the ties with Russia from breaking. Clinton quarreled with Russia over Kosovo, but managed to keep the china on the table from breaking while GW Bush behaved like bull in a china shop. Steamed up by his lunatic neocons who, by the sword, wanted to plant their form of crazy democracy in the Kremlin, Bush moved hard to destabilize the Ukraine and Belarus; he set up bases in Central Asia and moved NATO to the edges of Russia in Central and Eastern Europe, and the Balkans. As Putin moved against the European owned oligarchy that controlled the Russian press, media, and mineral rich resources, Bush took the side of the oligarchs in the name of capitalism and democracy. Bush certainly did interfere in internal Russian affairs and in the end expedited Putin’s compression of power by get-your-hands-off Russian nationalism. Last week Putin, who has a 75% approval rating, charted a new Russian course at an international conference for Defense Ministers in Munich. He declared that the US behaves irresponsibly and makes the world unsafe. This was not just bluster. Previously, Putin, who is now oil rich, announced a 190 billion defense build up. His Minister of Defense indicated Russia would abrogate the Intermediate Missile Defense Treaty as it is no longer in its best interests. Take that NATO! This move threatens all of Europe once again with possible and accurate Russian missile strikes. Russia has warned the Czech Republic and Poland that US missile defense bases in their countries will be targeted by Russian missiles. SECDEF Gates did his best at the time to put lip stick on the pig by saying the US is not looking for a second cold war, but he may already have it, unfortunately. Bush’s pigeons came home to roost.

Bush has to act as fireman and contain the inferno he has foolishly ignited. You will note that I have depicted the Catholic Saint Florian at the head of this article. He is the Catholic patron saint of firefighters. The deities of Bush's born-again evangelistic Christians obviously have not aided him in his time of need. Mr. Bush, try St. Florian. Remember, stand him on his head before you begin your incantations; he is more powerful that way. Nothing else has worked for you so far. Colonel Robert E Bartos USA RET