Bush Fires; US burn

Under Bush, Americans suffered two monumental disasters, all in September. In September 2001, terrorists attacked America, killing 5,000 people. Seven years later, a more lethal attack against America happened, this time threatening the very lives of each and every American. Again, it was both a failure in intelligence and plain and simple negligence.

Two disasters in two serious fronts. How will America recover from these huge bush fires? First, a real, physical threat now, a crisis in money.

Former president Bill Clinton said, a certain amount of regulation should be put in place to avert a further slide of the US economy towards recession. The British already did that, putting into regulation two troubled financial firms. Will the US do the same? Obviously, with the rejection of the bailout plan, the Bush administration will have to do it the hard way.

The US Congress sent a strong message with the rejection. For Bush, we don't trust you. Bush failed on two fronts already--the global anti-terror campaign and the economy. Reports say the anti-terror campaign did not weaken Al Qaeda, despite the Bush administration forking billions of dollars worth of the people's money. And now this.

I think the core issue lies on the lack or absence of trust. Americans have lost trust in Bush due to these failures.

Bush and his treasury chief are the ones to blame for the mistrust Americans have about this administration. During the first and second quarters of this year, Henry Paulson have been going the rounds, assuring the public that the US economy is on a recovery mode. With that, Bush gave a State of the Nation address, even mentioning that the government is having success in repairing the damaged economy. A few months after, disaster struck.

The solution is not a bailout. Government must try its best to tell people to again trust the system. Money will flow if people trust the system enough of their monies. 

Global Tensions Rising

The United States military has deployed a regular army unit inside the US mainland to deal with local insurgencies and possible civil unrest. This is the first time that the US government did this. The US State Department has considered contingency measures in the event of a possible outbreak of violence due to the worsening economic crisis.

Over at the US Congress, US Treasury Chief Paulson reportedly pleaded with Democratic congressmen not to reveal the close door theatrics displayed by politicians and financial experts discussing the $700 billion bailout proposal. Republicans are up in arms over the proposal, saying that it's still a raw deal, which could not possibly end the increasing financial tensions. US President George Bush has said that the US is in for a long and painful recession, should Congress fail to pass the proposal. At this time though, things over at Washington seem to have turned from bad to worst, with politicians and officials fighting against each other. 

While the US tries to put out its financial fires, the Russian military has sent its fleet to South America, obviously as part of its global strategic military plan. In Iran, the tiny nuclear Islamic Republic is reportedly preparing for war, possibly against the United States and its allies. Analysts say, conflicts could possibly escalate after Ramadhan. Meanwhile, North Korea has banished nuclear inspectors and indicated a possible revival of its atomic energy programme.

Obviously, the enemies of the US are starting to flex their muscles. This financial crisis is more than a sneeze--its a serious illness which the world's superpower could find hard to cure. While the strong man remains bedridden with financial woes, enemies are now in the midst of preparing themselves for possible confrontations since historically, the US resorts to its war machines when faced with extreme economic difficulties. War provides the needed push for its industries and the US could do the same thing given the seriousness of the crisis.