There is zero likelihood that George W. Bush, commander-in-chief of the
American Imperial Army, will go on patrol in Baghdad with his troops,
whether in a Humvee, a Bradley vehicle, or a tank. Nor will Secretary of
Defense Rumsfeld put on military fatigues and place himself in harms way
where an Iraqi freedom fighter might be able to lob a rocket-propelled
grenade in his direction. So, when Bush challenges the Iraqis to "bring it
on", or when Rumsfeld says there is no guerilla war, they are dealing in
semantics from a place of utter safety. It reveals to the American public
and to the American military, especially the front-line troops, how much
this administration values their lives.
'Bring it on, you chicken-shit little sand-niggers!" is what Bush seems to
be really thinking, with his smirk and his bravado (which was curiously
absent thirty years ago when Bush himself found ways to avoid reporting for
duty during an imperial war of another era). Bush is completely at peace
with himself as he puts someone else's sons and daughters' lives on the line
for his own benefit.
This president is like a bull in a china closet. He is reckless and
thoughtless and careless and clueless because he is the biggest, baddest
bull there is, and he sees no harm in thrashing around, anywhere and any
time. So what if a few little dishes get broke -- the taxpayer will buy new
ones. So what if I alienate a few of the younger, weaker bulls -- I have
nothing to fear from them.
So Bush conducts foreign policy as though he considers himself Emperor of
the World. When you are the Emperor of the World, the feelings of mere
national leaders of places like France and Germany and Russia and Syria and
even Canada do not matter. In BushThink, "they need to worry about what I
think about things -- not the other way around". Bush cannot conceive of
the idea that he might be harming long-term American interests. Like that
bull in that little closet of china, he only feels his own power -- nothing
else.
The bull in the china closet thinks only of his own grandeur and power. He
cannot see down the road and understand that others might have their own
uses for that china, and will not like the impact of the bull's feces on the
floor of the display room or the odor caused by those droppings. The bull
cannot picture the day when another bull will take his place, and perhaps be
held accountable for the damage he caused by setting his hooves in places
where they did not belong. The bull in the china closet, in fact, is not
only doing damage by stepping in places where he does not belong, but he is
out of touch with his herd and unable to provide for their legitimate needs.
So, while the bull bellows and breaks glass, the herd is unattended and
will soon be looking for an alternate bull who will be less bellicose, less
infatuated with bovine divinity, and more content to stay in the pasture and
live in peace.
The writer is a member of several falconry and ornithological clubs and
organizations. He contributed above article to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from California, USA.
