"Endemic warfare over basic natural resources" is what the recent Pentagon study on global warming concluded was possible, given the worst-case scenario of rapid warming. This report was released at the same time the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency refused to issue a statement on "climate change."
The actions of George W. Bush have pushed us to a situation that mirrors the disaster looming from our careless treatment of the environment. The act of caring less is a hallmark of this administration and its actions/inactions have raised the planet's political temperature to mimic the greenhouse effect.
War on the Horn of Africa seems assured - only the number of states to be sucked into the conflict seems in doubt. Where did the U.S. stand? With the warlords. It is sickening to hear democracy touted by an administration of people who apparently have no problem getting in bed with thugs and dictators when it serves their purpose. The list is too long to recite, but from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia to the newly minted Asian republics, we support what are clearly enemies of democracy. The rhetoric of the White House again fails to match its actions and simply makes what we say not credible to the rest of the world. Our own actions in areas of detention, forced rendition and torture compound this hypocrisy and make our former position as advocate and protector of human rights untenable.
Afghanistan is now merely a hunting ground for our enemies and we have left the mess to NATO to clean up, as we are too busy. Opium production has skyrocketed since the toppling of the Taliban and again the government we support is littered with thugs like Rashid Dostum. The resources devoted to this country are a pittance and yet there is no more to give as it goes into the hole that is Iraq. Our allies are foundering in "nation building" - a practice we do not want to do ourselves, perhaps for the reason that it involves patience and resources, things that are in short supply in the White House at the moment. If we fail here, the purpose of this war will be recreated and a failed state will be the result, bringing full circle a policy that was never fully created and thus could not be successfully executed.
Metaphorically, the most heat is on in a place awash in gasoline with a regional war looming that will tear the Middle East apart and have serious consequences for our nation and its allies. Lebanon may be the spark that sets the blaze alight. There have been demonstrations involving a quarter to half the population and the government is currently under siege. We like "popular" revolutions that install pro-U.S. political parties, such as the Orange and Cedar revolutions, but condemn the same when they represent Islamist politicians, as is now the case in Lebanon.
We may not see the hypocrisy in these actions but those involved do. Now there is word that Elliot Abrams - a man Congress assured us would never again serve in high government office, who is now in charge of Middle East strategy - had conversations with Israel about attacking Syria. Again the risks to the lives of those who live there and the catastrophe of a regional war seemed not to bother George W. Bush, who is intent on establishing his legacy in the face of a failure of historic proportions.
War and destruction are tools that this administration reaches for in far too casual a fashion, the "bigger hammer'' mechanics theory extended inappropriately to diplomacy.
This theory of breaking more things to fix things is nowhere more apparent than in Iraq, which is literally on fire and has the potential to truly set the world alight. The talk of "surging" more U.S. troops is a last-gasp strategy in the midst of a civil war we inspired.
Baghdad is being cut off from the national electrical grid, reducing what are already meager hours of service for the nation's capital. There is no more money for reconstruction of a nation we crippled and pushed into third- or fourth-world status. The education system, legal system, medical system and so many other mechanisms of civilized society do not work and thousands of those professional classes able to afford it have fled the country.
This is anarchy, civil war, sectarian conflict - whatever the label is, our actions and inactions have led to here. Yet we seem to blame Iraqis more than ourselves. The only thing that seems dimly clear is that the policies of this administration have risked all our futures and it is less than certain we can prevent a conflagration.
The Baker/Hamilton group stated bluntly that we have failed and may not be able to control what happens next. The lies and manipulation that led us here seem outside of the purview of the study group, mimicking a democratic majority that seems uninterested in holding to account those who have wasted trillions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of lives. Impeachment is a way of rebuking bad behavior and deception, especially when it kills people - this in contrast to offending the moral sensibilities of those in power. If ever grounds for impeachment existed, they are manifold in the case of this administration, as are the blatant examples of distorting facts, withholding information, manipulating the American public and flat-out lying to get what they think is best for us.
The impeachment of George W. Bush would at least serve to let the world know we hold people accountable for their actions - even our president - and that we do not agree with what he has said we stand for. Far from this alternate reality, we seem to be giving the world a message of standing by, as if - as now seems the case - the "message" of the midterm elections was one that could and will be ignored.
There may still be time to snatch failure from the jaws of catastrophe and prevent future presidents from taking similar actions. Impeachment does nothing more than send a message unable to be ignored.
To contribute essays to Other Voices, contact Mary Morgan, opinion editor, at 734-994-6605 or mmorgan@annarbornews.com.