ZTO Bush Re-Election Is A Tragedy

Bush Re-Election Is A Tragedy

GABORONE, Botswana, Nov. 5 - The re-election of George W. Bush for the second term as United States President is a tragedy for mankind, international security and peace. Bush is a unilateral leader who violated conventions of the United Nations to invade Iraq and satisfy his lust for war despite strong opposition. He is a law unto himself and he intimidates independent and sovereign states in his self-appointed role as the international policeman.

In the wisdom of Bush, the UN has become irrelevant or a body to be ignored when it is convenient. This is tragic for an institution founded to foster peace and stability in the world.

In the eyes of the world, the Bush-led United States is a monster that stands in full anger to devour its imagined enemies. Bush sees it as his mission to spread American values throughout the world, especially in the Middle East, including prescribing to the world the kind of leaders they should have.

Why should the US claim to be the sole exporter of values when other countries are not allowed to practise what they think is good for them? Western democracy might be good but there are other civilisations that can also serve society. The world cannot be a monolithic arrangement in which only the US view is right. What is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan is a case in point. In Iraq, the US and its allies defied the world and went to war on very flimsy reasons. Now they are reaping the bitter fruits of their lack of wisdom.

Bush's re-election is a setback for science, human rights, and environmental conservation. A hostage of the right wing fundamentalist evangelistic movement, Bush has openly declared his opposition to stem cell research. He has pulled out of the Kyoto agreement, thereby ensuring that the United States would continue to be the world's leading polluter of the environment.

The world still awaits an even-handed approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from the United States.

by Editor
The Reporter / allAfrica Global Media

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