Hole in the Sand

There were some wry smiles at the United Nations when it was recently leaked that the Pentagon had prepared a position paper on the military consequences of global warming. We should be glad, perhaps, that someone in the administration is taking it seriously — but it is perhaps typical of our current masters that it is easier for them to draw up plans for armed snatch-and-grab raids on other people’s resources than it is to sign the Kyoto protocols on carbon-dioxide emissions and take action to restrict them.

It is small wonder that opinion polls across the world show record levels of mistrust of the Bush administration’s motives and methods.

In contrast, think back to a year before the invasion of Iraq. For some months after 9/11, the world stood in unprecedented solidarity with the United States. The French, unaware of their impending status as frog-eating surrender monkeys, moved a resolution in the U.N. Security Council pledging complete support. The U.S. was bombarded with offers from all over the world to help go after Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. There were pledges of support to help root out al Qaeda. It took just six months’ hard work from the Bush administration to convert unanimity at the U.N. and near universal support worldwide to dogged resistance.

It is no wonder that Democratic contender John Kerry, riding high in the polls, promised to return the U.S. to be part of the global community. The world community, which generally likes stability to regime change, is right behind this one. If the rest of the world had a vote in the coming elections, from Britain to Canada, from the Middle East to Europe, there would be a clear majority for anyone but Bush. Kerry has little to lose, but a world to win over.