Coming back from a trip to the United States last week—one could easily tell the American mood was strongly against the Republicans.  Surveys showed the growing discontent among Americans over the war in Iraq, allegations of corruption and the Mark Foley scandal that hounded the ruling party as the November 7 elections drew near.  The Democrats, led by Speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi, homed in exactly on what Americans wanted to hear—that they needed a change in policy and direction.

After all is said and done, the results of the US midterm polls show a stinging indictment against George Bush by voters who have grown weary of the mounting death toll over the war in Iraq.  The first casualty: Donald Rumsfeld, who immediately resigned as Defense Secretary.

Rumsfeld's resignation as defense chief signals a shift in US foreign policy, especially on Iraq.  Even President Bush admits that his Iraq policy was not working fast enough, and that a fresh perspective was needed.  That doesn't mean, though, that he's backing out on the war against terrorism.  With Democrats now controlling both Congress and the Senate, expect a modified stance, though the new ruling party has yet to define what it plans to do.  Sound bytes during the election campaign largely focused on Republican bashing, with no clear-cut strategy outlined by Democrats except to say that there will be a "new direction" and "redeployment."

Nancy Pelosi is already assured her place in history by becoming the first female Speaker of the US House of Representatives, and the possibility of having the first female president in the White House is not too far-fetched with Hillary Rodham Clinton getting ready to go for it in 2008.

Americans have a rather short memory, forgetting how the 9/11 terrorist attack dramatically changed their way of life.  Back then, they wanted to fight back and avenge the 3,000 who were killed.  That was the highest point of George Bush's tenure as president, but in retrospect, the Iraq war was obviously a miscalculation.

The success of US forces in Afghanistan in October 2001 helped drive American sentiment into favoring a war in Iraq—a move that turned out to be a major blunder as the US underestimated the strength of the insurgency.  As war expenses zoomed past $300 billion and American casualties began to mount—over 2,800 dead since the war began in 2003—the American public became angrier and angrier, fueled by the sight of young soldiers dying almost every day.  And when Americans start to see blood, like what happened with the US troops in Vietnam—they want to lash back at those they hold to be responsible.

The small towns that were the stronghold of support for Bush turned against him after seeing many of their sons coming home in coffins.  This, ultimately, drove the voters to embrace the Democrats, plus the failed promise that the war in Iraq will end quickly.

The sad part is the United States at this point can't just walk away from Iraq and leave it like what they did in Vietnam in 1975.  As George Bush said, "the only way we lose in Iraq is if we leave before the job is done"—and the job is to make sure that the country does not become another hotbed of terrorism like what happened in Afghanistan.  For American troops to pack their bags and leave could result in more bloodbath in a country already torn by sectarian violence, a ready prey for terrorists out to establish their stronghold and turn Iraq into a breeding ground for terrorism.  That is where the United States has to stay on course—in continuing the fight against terrorism.

But with the Democrats in control of both the Congress and the Senate, it's obvious Bush will not have the same kind of power he had before when Republicans ruled both Houses.  Though he admitted he has no choice but to work with Nancy Pelosi whom he met at the White House Oval Office last Thursday—and who viciously called Bush "incompetent, a liar, and dangerous" during the campaign—he would be facing a lot of difficulty in the last two years of his term.  He will still have veto powers, but obviously he will have to change a lot of policies.  But still, the United States can't get away from the fight against terrorism.

So far, there has not been a major attack in the US since 9/11, but terrorists may just get emboldened by the perception that the American mood is getting "soft" and is not as gung-ho, especially with the continuing death toll in Iraq.  God forbid, if another major tragedy like 9/11 happens again.  Bush may find himself back in the saddle and could then tell the Americans, "I told you so."

For now, this change in American attitude regarding the war on terrorism will not reach our shores because the big issue is still concentrated in Iraq at this point.  But just the same, it might do well for GMA when she has that one-on-one meeting with her "bosom buddy" Bush in Hanoi, to assure him that we are still "on course" despite the recent setback suffered by the Republicans.

Bush is a real Texan cowboy who believes that the test of real friendship is when a man is down, real friends stick together.  In fact, the line "either you are with us or against us" was actually coined by Bush himself and is a take from the Spanish "somos o no somos."  GMA may take advantage of that and assure Bush that we're still with him in the fight against terrorism, because at the end of the day, we will still need the Americans to help us, especially with the military reform program that Nonong Cruz started.

It's really "sayang" that Cruz had to leave the Department of Defense at this time when we need a person like him who is focused and determined to professionalize our troops, and help us become less dependent on American military support.  The sad part is, up to now, we still don't have an anti-terrorism bill, and there's no word on when this will ever be passed.  The United States has its own problems and we cannot always depend on Americans to help us with our security concerns.  Right now, we are so dependent on this major ally in capturing the Abu Sayyaf and Jemaah Islamiyah militants.

No matter how much our friend, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney assures us that everything remains the same, a change in leadership, especially in Congress where budgetary issues are decided, will definitely affect our defense reform program and the kind of military assistance we can get from the United States.  With Dubya—Bush-whacked by the Democrats into becoming a lame-duck president—military assistance even to long-time allies like the Philippines could be drastically cut by the Democrats following their triumphant victory last November 7.

#########

Email: babeseyeview@hotmail.com

BACK TO TOP