Global crisis alphabet starts with a 'Dubya'

The world seems to be in perpetual chaos. If it isn't a natural disaster, it's a war; if it isn't a war, it's civil unrest; if it isn't civil unrest, it's a prolonged recession; if it's isn't a prolonged recession, it's partisan turmoil; if it isn't partisan turmoil, it's a natural disaster...

And so it continues.


The world is not at peace anymore, and in my mind, peace and the end to conflict seems further than it has ever been before. There is a restlessness about that belies a state of urgency. In my opinion imperial forces are about with a vengeance; in the guise of propagating democracy and protecting human rights.

One would automatically assume that I mean the United States by the above paragraph when the US is not the sole perpetrator. The European Union, particularly Britain, Germany and France (and maybe in that order, although not necessarily) can share in some of the credit.

Which in a nutshell is the source of the problem – CREDIT; or lack thereof.

We are in a interesting Catch 22 dilemma where one is confused whether the credit crunch preceded the chaos, or whether it was the the chaos that triggered a domino effect on the economy and led to the credit crunch.

My take, albeit simplistic, is that it all started with 'Dubya' – the 42nd and possibly worst president of the United States. George W Bush was a lost president who was clearly out of his depth in foreign affairs, and who chose to take it on because he was even deeper in confusion with his domestic policy.

Had the war on terror not been launched 'Dubya' might have passed on as a nondescript president who kept the seat warm while the economy caught its breath after the Clinton years.

However, that was not to be, and more disturbingly the American people re-elected him to their long lasting detriment – in their misdirected expectation that he was going to keep the nation safe (when it was because of him (and his Trickier Dick) that they had to start locking the doors in the first place).

Had 'Dubya' never been re-elected, the world might have been a better place and the world powers would not have injected so much money into far away (imperial?) outposts in the name of saving face. Iraq and Afghanistan has drained the big powers of tremendous financial strength because the two men of the moment (Blair and Bush) possibly believed that they were on the brink of creating history.

Unfortunately history will not look too fondly back at their performance... provided the global economy can whither the depression and the deception quickly enough.

The easy thing would be to blame Dubya for everything, but in my mind while Dubya might have gotten the ball rolling the people who followed in those populist footsteps when they should have known better should be taken to account too.

It might be even more simplistic to suggest that Obama was in a strong position to pull the plug when he took office in January 2009 – but he had to look every much the tough Texas Ranger for the public (thanks again to Dubya). 'Not on my watch,' resonated through the Obama administration on the back of the remotest of possibilities of another terrorist act on US soil.

The Twin Tower attacks piggybacked on Al Qaeda's demands that the US remove its military bases off sacred soil, i.e. Saudi Arabia – a residue of Bush Sr's political chicanery and spat with one time friend and confidant Saddam Hussain.

One wonders whether the Twin Towers would still standing if the US forces had been pulled out of Saudi soil within a year of its ousting Saddam's forces from Kuwait. My guess it might have been, but oil ran in the veins of George H. Bush, George W. Bush and of course Dick Cheney – their political fortunes have always floated on crude – and Saddam Hussain shook their trust in the uninterrupted oil supply so they had to be sure.

The rest fell into place and we are where we are.

One other thing, I am not one to surrender to explanations of divine intervention – I've delved in too much science and mathematics for that (moreover its plain spooky to think that it might happen) – but the series of natural disasters and the scale of destruction unleashed since the beginning of this year would prod anyone to suspend their logic for at least moment to imagine that the Almighty might be giving us a warning.

I did have a disclaimer that my take on the current circumstances were rather simplistic.

Could I be onto something? Any thoughts?