Is Bush On The Right Path As A Leader Of A Superpowr?

No matter how paradoxical it is, the people of thein the geopolitical arena. It is not the Soviet Union
countries of the Eastern bloc, including the Sovietany more; it is the legal successor to the USSR
Union (with some exceptions) gained more fromand its "main heir" possesses huge intellectual
the collapse of the Union of the Soviet Socialistpotential, experience in government structuring
Republics (USSR) than the people of the countriesand the richest natural resources. After the
of the Western bloc. We want to emphasize this,collapse of the USSR, Russia, on the whole, very
as it is considered that the collapse of the USSRquickly restored its governmental institutions and
was the result of a durable and uncompromisingdefined its priorities in domestic and foreign
conflict between the East and the West, betweenpolicies. Besides, the effected economic reforms
the communist and the capitalist blocs.made it possible to strengthen its place on the
We would like to especially dwell upon what theeconomic arena and in financial world markets. Of
USA and its citizens gained or lost as a result ofcourse, such a short description of the situation
this collapse. We ask the question, why thenwith Russia is not enough, and we are ready to
should be concentrate on USA specifically? Thegive a more detailed description in the future, but
reason is that the conflict between the East andall that was said above is conceptually accurate
the West always implied a conflict between theand, on the whole, depicts the situation with
USSR and the USA.Russia.
The USSR collapsed and the world becameTaking into account this situation, the US
singlepolar which made the USA a soleadministration made, in our opinion, the only
superpower in the world. This events happenedaccurate decision: to establish friendly, allied
independent of the will of the USA itself.relationship with the neighboring countries of
However the superpower "status" bring with itRussia, by involving them into the spheres of its
number of rights and obligations that must beinterests.
rigorously carried out. Unlike other countries -First - in the Ukraine the forces with pro-western
even the most developed ones - a superpowerorientation came to power after the "orange"
has a qualitatively different role in the geopoliticalrevolution.
arena of the world and needs a radical review ofSecond - The "Pink" revolution in Georgia with the
the state's foreign and domestic policies. Thesesame result.
policies include its geopolitical, financial andThird - Kyrgyzstan; again, a colorful revolution
economic interests. In this case, one must analyzewith the same result.
United States' specifics issues, including a reviewAll these countries are Russia's immediate
of the world outlook of the US domesticneighbors; moreover, Ukraine occupies a key
governmental institutions and citizenry since itsposition in Central Europe; Georgia - in the South
socio-political institutions which is based completelyCaucasus and in the Black Sea and Caspian
on a different ideology and philosephy. It is not awaters; Kyrgyzstan - in Middle Asia.
secret, that the US has been a standard setterThe work with Azerbaijan started earlier with the
for democracy and free economic relations; aprogram of extraction and transportation of the
locomotive power for progress and a country ofCaspian oil, bypassing Russia. Currently
equal possibilities and so on - in a word a modelconsultations are being conducted regarding the
country that must be emulated.RLS in Gabalinsk, as ell.
Thus, shortly after it became the onlyUnder this administration, the relations with
superpower, the US itself affirmed its special roleKazakhstan have significantly improved, which is
in the geopolitical arena by bombing the territoriesone of the key countries in the Middle Asian
of the former Yugoslavia. US proved that it hadregion. Here, besides the geopolitical interests,
the right to put things in order in the heart ofthere are economic interests too: the oil deposit in
Europe and no country would stand in its way. InTengiz (the transportation route for this oil is
fact, this turned out to be case. This events tookalready known - the corridor of the Caspian oil
place under Democrat President Bill Clinton. Thispipe-line) and the strategically important Baykanur
period should be considered as the "nauguration"and Semipalatinsk.
of the USA as a superpower. All events thatConsidering the complex of all these steps as well
followed and are continueing to this date haveas the actions intending to involve the countries of
their foundation in that "Inuauguration".the former Soviet Camp (Eastern Europe and the
Many leaders of various states, nations andBaltic States) into NATO, one may surely say
socio-political movements began to contradictthat the USA is strengthening its position in the
statements made by leaders of the superpower.world as superpower and, at the same time, it
The opposition is to earn political and/or financialmakes every effort to neutralize all other
dividends by publicly speak against a superpowerpotential candidates.
or even analyze and criticize its actions to feelBehind this limited enumeration of US
that you are equal or on a comparable level asachievements is the enormous work of the
the other leader.foreign policy departments and Special Forces,
The US administration of Democrat President Billhighly qualified analysts, planners and performers.
Clinton and Republican President George W. Bush,Each of the enumerated steps may comprise a
ignored or lightly responded this unimportanttextbook and is worthy of a separate monograph.
criticisms because their statements are of noAll the steps were so well regulated that they did
consequence to the policies set by United Statesnot lead to direct military clashes and, on the
as a super power.whole, they were carried out constitutionally and
What happened under Republican Presidentdemocratically.
George W. Bush, shocked not only the USA butThe policy against Iraq is the continuation of the
the whole world. On September 11, 1997, thesuperpower's policy to establish zones of
USA was faced with a unthinkable situation.geopolitical interests of the USA. Why Iraq?
Regardless of the political affiliation and ideology,1. It is one of the leaders of the Arab world that
the President of United States had to respond tounifies all the US enemies and anti-American
this attacks and insure severe punishment for theforces.
responsible entities as the attacks were not2. It was a threat to the US interests in this
against any one individual or any political party butregion.
against the entire country and its citizens.3. It is hostile towards the USA regime.
Enough has been said and written about the4. It is an absolute domestic dictatorship,
motives of this terrorist act. However, it is notbordering on tyranny.
necessary at this juncture to analyze this issue5. It has profound internal religious and ethnic
any further internally. One thing must be said -conflicts.
'there's no need to look for the black cat in the6. It has the richest natural resources.
dark room especially when one is not there.'7. Its geographical position is convenient for
Thus, President Geroge W. Bush, in beginning ofcontrolling the whole region.
his term, took up the challenge of responding toHowever, it should be noted that any superpower
the attacks on 9/11 and acted as a reasonablethat is defending its interests at various points of
and rational President had to in his position as athe world does so under various humanitarian
leader of the super power.slogans: liberation from the colonial yoke, help the
Why strike Afghanistan? As per US Governmentfraternal nations, class, people of the same faith
Internal reports, the man most responsible for theand so on, establishment of a democratic regime;
attacks was located in Afghanistan (setting asidesupport the national liberation movement and
his background as well as the reason hemany more.
committed it). The fact that he was not foundWe would like to stop here and make an interim
and arrested was not President's fault. At thesummary, as follows:
same time the necessary result was achieved for1. President G. Bush and his administration came to
the superpower:lead a country that was already a superpower de
1. The USA showed that it can conduct a militaryfacto and de jure.
operation at any location of the world and no2. Throughout their governance the country
Country can and will stand in its way, especially incarried out a ratherrational foreign policy in
Afghanistan, which was considered a sphere ofstrengthening its position in the world.
geopolitical interest for the USSR.What's the problem then? The answer to that
2. Today, Afghanistan has a pro- Americanquestion must be sought inside the country. Are
president and government.the people as well as the governmental and
3. The USA secured a controlled zone for thesocio-political institutions of the USA ready to
safe transportation of hydrocarbon fuel from theperceive their country as the only superpower in
Middle Eastern and Caspian regions, bypassingthe world, and, if yes, what will it cost them not
Russia.only materially but also morally? We think that the
4. Drug trafficking from Afghanistan was cut offhead of a superpower, which is conducting military
and taken under controlactions thousands of kilometers away, should not
5. The place and role of Afghanistan on thepublicly ask the Congress of his country for
geopolitical map of the world is so important thatpermission to send any additional military
it does not need to be argued. The fact thatcontingents and get a denial or an agreement with
many powers fought it is well known fromreservations. This destroys the balance between
history: The Great Britain, Czarist Russia, USSR,the rights and obligations of a country's head. This
USAis only one example; there are a number of them,
The next step for the USA was not to allow anybeginning with the unfounded criticism and attacks
of the existing countries to take the role of ain the address of the President in the media and
new superpower. In United States opinion twothe politicians' speeches, and ending with the
countries of China and Russia may have had thepublication of the polls. The Democrats are
potential to be the other super power.criticizing - it's understandable; it's the opposition
The economic and financial interests of the USAparty. Why are the Republicans keeping silent?
and China are so intertwined (especially afterThe USA must make the decision for itself: is it
China joined WTO), be it on the level of mediumready to remain in the status of the superpower
or small business or transnational companies andor not, because half-decisions are not acceptable
countries, that most of the questions betweenin this matter; one cannot be half-pregnant.
the two countries are resolved through economicIf yes, then it should start to gradually reform the
means. Accordingly, US current policy should staysocio-political and governmental institutions inside
unchanged as it relates to China at this time.the country.
However, this is a temporary fix; the USA seemsIf not, then the country will still remain one of the
obliged to apply serious adjustments to thesedeveloped countries, but it must be taken into
relations in the near future.consideration that another country may take the
The situation is different with Russia. No definiteplace of the superpower (or structure) and the
plan and integrated policy has been put into effectconsequences will be unpredictable for the USA.
relating to Russia. This eventual policy isWe will prepare the discussion of these questions
reasonable, because Russia is comparatively newin the future.