An Irresponsible Cheney

Again, again and again, Cheney does not get it, and repeats the same mistake, over and over. We have mentioned before, several times, that Bush, Rice, Cheney should stay home. Every time, they dare to go abroad, we are losing more friends, creating more enemies. And, more people are laughing at us.

Within four days, our dear Vice President has succeeded to antagonize the Arab World and the Whole World. Being so narrow-minded and short-sighted, Dick Cheney does not realize (and/or does not care) the damage he is doing to the future of our country.

Friday, May 4, it was another useless, childish ultimatum to Iran. Monday, May 7, a plea to save Wolfowitz's job. Of course, the whole world is wrong. Only Cheney-Bush know better.

No one is listening to the White House anymore, but Fox News, and 30% of our population who still naively believe that our leaders are doing a great job.

In contrast to Mr. Cheney's low-key visit in UAE, last week, the President of Iran was greeted with fanfare by the top leaders of the Emirates. According to Mr. Ahmadinejad, the relations with the Emirates are getting stronger, and more friendly than ever. A joint committee has been formed to promote trade, tourism, and energy.

“There's a willingness on both sides to upgrade relations,” he said. “Relations between Iran and the UAE can be a model for all the countries of the region.”

We can expect an alliance between UAE and Iran for their own mutual security and future development, with more independence from United States.

The U.S. presence in the Gulf, Mr. Ahmadinejad said, runs counter to the best interests of the Muslim-majority countries on both sides of the oil-rich sea. Mr. Ahmadinejad said the Americans had overextended their welcome in the region, and were advocating tough actions that reached beyond what their Arab allies wished.

We are witnessing another departure from allies, and soon, thanks to Cheney-Bush-Rice-Bolton-Negroponte, we will become really isolated. We have ignored, and antagonized Latin America, most of Europe, never understood Asia and Africa, and accumulated a series of faux pas and fiascoes in Middle East. Our two closest neighbours, Canada and Mexico, are not supportive anymore.

In regards to the World Bank, it has been recognized by the special committee that Wolfowitz has shown questionable judgment and a preoccupation with self-interest over institutional best interest, without mentioning the lies.

Dick Cheney has no qualms in saying to Fox News (of course, who else is listening to him?): "Mr. Wolfowitz is one of the most able public servants I’ve ever known” and that “he’s a very good president of the World Bank, and I hope he will be able to continue.”

Such a statement reveals the poor judgment of Cheney, (not the first time), but, worse, his disregard for ethics and moral. That's the type of exportation the present administration has been doing in the last five years.

The major problem: when Cheney dares to go abroad and insult the intelligence of others, the rest of the world believes he represents the American people. Our future generation will pay a heavy price. It will get harder and harder for American entities to be recognized and accepted in the rest of the world. Just try to imagine the number of contracts and functions we will be losing in the near future. It will take a few generations to reverse the trend.

Another legacy of Bush and Cheney: nomination and protection of incompetent friends with no ethics. Gonzales and Wolfowitz, being the latest. Both Bush and Cheney are a disgrace to our nation.

It is revealing to notice that, till three years ago, foreign leaders were coming to Washington. Now, Washington must go abroad. How many trips to Saudi Arabia and Middle East by Cheney and Rice, all to no avail. During the Israel-Lebanon war, White House praised and supported Israel, and antagonized the Arab World. In Israel, it has been demonstrated that the said war was a mistake. Again, Cheney-Bush-Rice on the wrong side, with wrong excuses.

Our next President will have a tough job to restore our credibility, and relations with the real world. So far, the rest of the world will never trust any of the Republican candidates. Among the Democrats, none of them have issued a serious and credible program for improving our Foreign Affairs. It is more than time for at least one Democrat candidate to issue a few pragmatic solutions. If short of ideas, contact us at: usalconsultants@aol.com

The Facilitator