Sunday, August 10, 2008

We've Lost Our Moral Authority

The thought of what is going to happen next fills me with apprehension. We are now witnessing what happens when an administration squanders the moral authority that once made us the most powerful country in the world.

It has been diminishing for years now. A war begun under false pretenses. The destruction of our constitutional rights which had made us the envy of the world. The condoning of torture; holding prisoners with out charging them and now stating we may not let them go when their sentences have been served. Spying on our own citizens with no recourse. Bullying everybody.

Our allies are slowly but surely leaving the Iraq mess to us as their own domestic problems become more demanding. Such as the situation in Georgia.

Now Russia has reared its ugly head again. Remember when Bush looked into Putin's soul and saw a man who could be trusted? I wonder what he'd see now.

So here we are. The Iraqi's have gotten their act together to the extent that they're telling us to get out. Israel is threatening to attack Iran to prevent it from happening to them first. Guess who will be expected to clean up that one should it occur?

The Shiia and the Sunni's will never co-exist peacefully no matter how much we want them to.

Now Russia has launched a full scale attack on the tiny independent state of Georgia. It's intent is to destroy it; not repatriate those of the population who hold allegiance to Russia in tiny South Ossetia, the disputed self-proclaimed state within Georgia's borders. Georgia is pro western and pro U.S. Guess who will be asked to help bail them out?

But we can't now, can we? We haven't the troops available. Most other countries have no taste for another conflict and are unlikely to step up to the plate.

And here we are with absolutely no clout what-so-ever. I would like to see the media press the candidates on this; pin them down as to what they feel our role should be when our allies, those we still have, get into trouble. Not just Iraq and Afghanistan, but across the board. What will U.S. policy be?

More importantly, what is their plan to regain our status in the world community? If they don't have one I foresee a domino effect. Every petty dictator who wants to flex his muscle will be able to do so because the U.S. has become a toothless tiger.

It's not a comforting thought.

6 comments:

Word Tosser said...

I agree, I like to hear those answers too..
Also what is the stance of the United Nations on this? Or is that too, becoming toothless...

Heard that Putin and Bush sat close by... at the Olympic's. Not a word about how things are... guess Bush still see the purity in Putin eyes..

Sylvia K said...

It's going to take a while to regain our status in the world community, there's no doubt about that. What worries me is what happens in the meantime? And we have indeed become a toothless tiger!

Sylvia

Linda said...

Your blog is very interesting. I will be visiting again. This is the kind of blog I'm searching for. Today I plan to spend part of the day researching the situation in Georgia. I have a lot to learn about that situation but I'm willing to spend the time to learn.

Anonymous said...

It's fun to read writing from an informed citizen. If only there were more of us...and we all voted.

Margie's Musings said...

That is surely the truth. I used to run a program to assist low income folks with their utilities and rent. I would ask them if they voted and most of them said, "no". Then I would remind them that if they did not vote, they could not complain about their situation.

Voting and writing letters to the editor of the local newspapers are about all the power the average citizen has.

The New Arch Druid's take on the news said...

The situation in Georgia is very bad. So much so that I wonder why the news media chose to take a break from that and jump all over Edwards and his tawdry, two year old affair. The news media has a far bigger scandal that they could be discussing. No less than GW Bush.