THE WORLDS ONLY HYPERPOWER By: Sunny Rasheed Lucman Pacasum

In the long history of The United States, George W. Bush may rank as one of the worst presidents the White House has ever had. Since his oath taking, the country had to face more defeats. Whether they be military, economic, political or ideological than any time in its history. And the list of what seems to be insurmountable challenges in front of it seems to be growing.

In the Muslim Region, America is fighting four wars that it cannot win, and unlike Vietnam, where pentagon used agent orange to kill every living creature in the area where it was used. Iraq, Afghanistan, Sudan and Somalia will prove to be far more costly. Because in the 1960s and 1970s Washington was facing just one enemy, Communism. During the Vietnam War the fighting between the two sides was a battle of ideology and will. The Vietnamese fought for their liberty, while America fought against communism. Now the case is different. It is not one single ideology that is presenting a threat. Take a globe and place your finger anywhere on it, and there is a good chance that United States confronts a problem there.

In Asia, it has to contend with the rise of China, Malaysia and India. Since the three Asian nations have been projected as the economic powerhouse of this century. They boast the world's highest rates of growth, huge human resources, technological advancement and massive natural resources. The three countries account nearly a third of the globe's population, which previously was the reason of overload on the primarily agriculture reliant economies, but is now acknowledged as a gigantic human capital resource. The three nations will economically catch up with America sometime in the near future. And China, the so called sleeping giant, seems determined to be the next superpower. Already questioning the way Washington is handling world affairs. China is now Iran's third largest export market for crude oil. But the most important aspect of the Tehran-Beijing alliance, however, is Iran's access to technology being developed by the Chinese People's Army particularly in the area of cruise and ballistic missiles. This has long been an issue of great concern for the Americans.

Washington has repeatedly expressed its dissatisfaction over china's involvement in Iran's nuclear development. Even China's neighborNorth Korea is openly mocking America with its nuclear capabilities and gets away with it. Russia is on the rise again, thanks to its gas reserves. It has substantially more hydrocarbons than the second country on the list, which incidentally happens to be Iran, a country that America is fighting on behalf of Israel. At present Russian oil exports dominate Europe. And Moscow remains the focus of great attention on the part of investors in countries all over the world. So,with the way things are going by the time Vladimir Putin leaves office, Russia will have retained its prestige and power that it had lost during the Cold War. Latin America, where Washington used to feel free to do whatever it wanted, has taken a Leftist turn. And with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Cuba's Fidel Castro, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega on the rise.

The other half of America doesn't look so good for the United States. Then there are the non-state actors, led by Al Qaeda, who wants to set their own agenda, which happens to be radically different to that of the United States. And now with Israel's shameful defeat in the hands of the brave Lebanese Hezbollah fighters. It has further strengthed the hands of Iran and Syria.

And given Damascus rapidly rising power and its regional ambitions, it does not bode well for Washington.The eight years of President George Bush will leave the next leader of the free world few options and most of them will involve choices over exit strategies in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia and the constructed "War on Terror". The next US president will have no room to maneuver and thanks to his predecessor will no longer be able to play any of America's usual hands to get them out of a tight situation. A clear example to justify my stand is despite Bush's increased effort over the past three years, he is further away from solving the Palestinian Crisis than he was when he first started.

Tel Aviv made sure that no solution is possible and have shown how little Israel really thinks of its one-time ally. No future US leader will have the credibility to offer a solution to the problems of the region. And the next president will face similar unrest that will consume him or her and become the basis for any decision that she or he will take. In that context, there will be no one left to do the dirty work against the Muslim Nations.No one there to share the brunt of the Nations fury over Israel's transgression, no one to be the scapegoat, to be the great Satan. With the absence of the Ultimate pantomime villain, a role George Bush was born to play, It's high time we ask ourselves what we all want and what needs to be done. Because Inshallah soon enough, that big American excuse for all the worlds problems, is not going to be around anymore.

WASSALAM

Sunny rasheed 27, is a member of the MORIATAO DIWAN, he's currently based in the gulf region. You can e-mail him at santino_pacasum@yahoo.com.ph

About the Author

a freelance writer based in the gulf region