The Hindu Business Line : A more dangerous world?

FORGET leader writers in newspapers or magazines, my 15-year-old son's teacher also told his students on the day the American President George W. Bush got a mandate for a second term in office: "All of us have awakened today to a much more dangerous world."

Had the American elections been fought outside the US, the Democratic candidate John Kerry would have won hands down; and this because in his fours year in power, Bush has antagonised one country after another, as he spoke the language of American unilateralism in tones bordering on the arrogant.

A few years ago, and during Bill Clinton's second term, a well known economist in Hong Kong had observed, commenting on his attempt to broker peace in the Middle East: "Oh, he' a typical second term US President... out to reform the world."

Well, Bush might have fallen short of the Clinton years as far as the US economy is concerned, but he is certainly one up on this front... he was out to reform the whole world during his first term. And bring "freedom and democracy" in countries like Afghanistan and Iraq. Well in Afghanistan we've had a questionable election, and the mercenaries there have begun to take a leaf out of Iraq's book in hostage taking. In Saudi Arabia, a friend of the US, it has been decided to deny women voting rights in the first ever election to be held there. And after the dismantling of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan Laura Bush, the US First Lady, had said in horror: "The Taliban did not allow women even to wear nail polish".

As far as Iraq is concerned, the rest of the world has had a totally unjustified war inflicted on it... Oh yes, no country is insulated from it. We might not have sent our troops there, but yet India could not escape the trauma of having its nationals kidnapped and released after agonising negotiations and heaven knows how much ransom. Daily kidnappings and bombings have become the norm in Iraq; even somebody with so much generosity and kindness as Care International's Margaret Hassan, married to an Iraqi Muslim, with dual Iraqi and British nationality, and living in Iraq for 30 years, has been kidnapped.

Well, Bush's unflinching stand against terrorism - along of course with his "moral stand" against gay marriage, stem cell research, abortion, etc - is supposed to have got him the mandate for a second term. But the traumatised and terrorised ordinary Iraqi people, who are paying such a huge price for his so-called war on terror, are demanding that Bush keep his promise of giving them a better life after toppling the Saddam regime. An agency report quoted Abu Ghazwan, a grocer in Baghdad on Bush's re-election: "Bush talks about freedom and democracy but all the Americans have brought is death and destruction. Where's our electricity, where's our oil money?"

Good question, but who cares about Iraqis? Certainly not the letter-writers in our newspapers thrilled with Americans endorsing Bush's stand on terrorism. Some of the naïve are even hoping that we will get a helping hand from the Bush administration to tackle the jihadis in Kashmir. Others are gloating over the possibility of an increase in outsourcing; something that Dalal Street has been celebrating over the last two trading sessions.

Speculation is rife about Iran being next on the chopping block, followed by North Korea... remember his infamous "evil axis" speech? Or, will it be war on the rest of the world, as John Pilger, arguably the most well known journalist on Middle East, puts it?

Response can be sent to rasheeda@thehindu.co.in