Analysis: Is 'Perfect Storm' Brewing for Bush?

[NNN0LHI]

http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=3327502

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the 2004 election nears, President Bush could face an international "perfect storm" -- more attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan, an overextended deployment of U.S. troops eager to come home and blackening clouds over the Middle East, North Korea and Iran.

The confluence of world events will test Bush's foreign policy leadership even as he must concentrate on the U.S. economy and other domestic issues that could determine whether he wins a second term.

Although most Americans still have a favorable opinion of the president, his job performance rating has slipped to 52 percent positive and 48 percent negative in a recent poll of 1,011 likely U.S. voters by Zogby International. This compares with a post-Sept. 11, 2001, peak rating of 82 percent positive.

The president and his top aides have repeatedly insisted that their course in Iraq is the right one.

But last week's bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, which killed 24 people, has provoked demands for a reassessment of U.S. Iraq policy.

Meanwhile:

-- Renewed Israeli-Palestinian violence may have scuttled a U.S. peace plan for the region.

-- Six-party talks in Beijing this week raise both peril and promise in dealing with the North Korean nuclear crisis.

-- A U.S. push to have the United Nations address concerns about Iran's nuclear ambitions could provoke a crisis.

STORM BREWING

more

[shockandawed]

1. the trouble is that a perfect storm has to be reported

and the 'weather channel'is owned by the storm

[grytpype]

3. lol!

[Nay]

6. Good one, Shocked!!

And don't you hate it when you read, as above, that "most" of the people support *, and then read further to see that in the eyes of the whorish media, "52%" is "most"? Drives me nuts.

[patrice]

2. McCains's weather forcast on Meet the Press this Morning

Prophecy or Freudian slip?: About the bombings in Iraq this week, McCain quoted Mao along the lines of " '. . . guerillas are to the people as fish are to water', and we(the U.S.) are going to dry up the water".

I think he thought he was refering to making it so $weet for Iraqis that they will cooperate with us. There was much discussion with Russert and Biden about the need to increase Military resources(costs), little or nothing about other COSTS, i.e. paying off the Iraqi people (electrical infrastructure, highways, hospitals, WATER SYSTEMS, economic stimuli etc. = everything except the control of their own oil), thusly making it so sweet for Iraqis that they won't support guerillas, BUT, given Iraq's geographic position relative to the fresh water in the REGION, there is at least an implied threat in that statement about "drying up the water" concerning what is going to happen if we don't get our way. If "we" mess with water rights in the region, it will make other countries feel justified in increasing terrorism against us. Can you say Viet Nam?

Also, on the point of making deals with Iraqi$ in order to keep them away from guerillas, and how much that is going to cost us, remember that U.S. deals are competing with a bunch of other actors in the region right at this very minute, Arab and NON-Arab, and given the fact that "we" just shit in the world-nest, foreign cooperation with U.S. economic interests in the region is going to be quite limited. All of them are going to bid up the price of stabilizing Iraq in order to put us in our place.

It is so f-----g ironic that they will be doing to us what Ron Reagan did to the USSR, and this god-darned pip-squeak s.o.b. of a president can't see it coming, or if he does, he doesn't care, because he is rich enough to hide from it.

Well, he won't be able to hide from the Dry actually, because what McCain said this morning about drying up the water was more than an abstract symbol; it is the aggregate effect of everything we are dong. The whole IS greater than the sum of its parts.

Is anybody out there familiar with the mythical figure Ouroboros? In simple words Ouroboros translates to "Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye."

[KoKo]

4. An interesting article, particularly the timing of getting extra troops in

I've been thinking the last couple of days that the UN is going to have to "cut a deal" with Bush in some way. For the humanitarian aspects of what's going on in Iraq and with I/P. The Middle East is going to blow....I don't think anyone but Bush/PNAC really wants that to happen. The situation has to be stablized or other nations will be targeted who have offered any help to Bush (like Spain, Poland and some that are "secretly" helping but aren't named (Powell says these secret helper nations are there).

Anyway.......whatever deal is "cut" which is necessary for humanitarian and stability of the area...Bush will try to take credit for it and his PNAC folks will spin and spin.

The timing of getting troops from other countries into Iraq according to this article.....seems to say it will be difficult for Bush to win on this one. It's too close to the election for troops from other nations to get into Iraq in time to make enough of a difference for Bush to save face.

From that standpoint and that US will delay until the UN Security Council rotates to GB in September which will be more helpful for Bush/Blair. Right now Syria has the rotation......and not much will be accomplished with Bush on his "vacation," either. So pushing things to September and farther means it could be months before "help" arrives. In between who knows what the hell could happen over there.

What a mess.......but the article is interesting for those of us who want that crowd of war mongering squatters thrown out of thw WH on their sorry butts.

Thanks for the post!

[rapier]

5. #1

You forgot one, the economy. Which of course is always #1. Probably we muddle thru. A strong job making recovery is almost an impossibility. This is all a slight to moderate negative. There is a possibility that there will be a financial accident/panic which will make a recession look good. The chances are at least 10% in my book.

In which case there can't be an election Bush can't lose. It is an impossibility. Get reeady for exciting times.

[The Zanti Regent]

7. You can't read about a "Perfect Storm" if the Whore Press won't cover it

These Presstitutes will not desert their master. They have lied for this bastard right from the start.

30 years ago, I could put on the TV and believe Cronkite.

Now, I put on the TV and every word coming out of Dan Rather's mouth is a lie.

[VolcanoJen]

8. The good news is, some media types have picked up on this buzzword

Both Russert and Schieffer used the words "Perfect Storm" on their programs this morning.

It wasn't until I came here after the Sunday talkies and saw where they got the catchphrase from. That's at least mildly encouraging, isn't it?

[pretzel4gore]

9. if bush doesn't take the mediawhores and the bushsuckers down

with him, then it maybe better to let the bushiteviks steal next election etc....like the saintly Che once said "Nothing FAIL like success when working for the devil!"