| Another very long opinion piece on Dubya's plans for Asia. First few paragraphs here. |
By M K Bhadrakumar
A long time ago, we heard that US President George W Bush had become a lame duck. In April 2005, Craig Crawford, Washington TV commentator who famously distilled the 25 rules for survival in the brutal and manipulative world of American politics, felt certain 'signs abound that the Bush presidency is winding down'.
The news coming in from Iraq was real bad. Four months later, with Hurricane Katrina swamping New Orleans, Jim Lobe of Inter Press Service wrote in September, Bush was 'looking like a 'political lame duck', struggling hard to stay afloat on a rising tide of pessimism and political discontent'. Lobe was not wrong. Indeed, the polls were showing stunning drops in public confidence; moderate Republicans were said to be deserting Bush's camp.
Bush's approval rating today is dismal. The campaign to find his successor is well under way. He is still embattled by the Iraq war. Bush fits the textbook definition of a lame duck. Worse still, as James Forsyth of The Spectator magazine points out, even 'Bush-hatred, like the president himself, has become a lame duck'. There were hardly any public protests during Bush's European tour last month.
Bush is undeterred. He meant what he said during Christmas 2006, 'I'm going to sprint to the finish.' Free of electoral pressures and the tyranny of popularity rating, the sprinter is gaining in velocity. Just as experts began concluding Bush's missile defenses were dying with his presidency comes the news from Washington last Tuesday regarding a US-Poland deal for a future missile shield. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be arriving in Warsaw this week for follow-up. Not only that. US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates revealed that Lithuania had agreed to consider hosting a missile interceptor base if the US deal with Poland fell through. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrel explained that 'prudent planning requires that we simultaneously look at backups, if necessary. Lithuania would geographically serve as a good alternative.'
| Hadn't heard that one. Putin's gotta be taking the gaspipe ... |
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