Survival of the Fittest

It's not a question of who wins or loses what. It's a question of waiting until Obama makes up his mind. In the opinion of the rest of the world, America still holds the deciding suit. Bush is tagged as a failure because he didn't get it done. Obama promised 'change', meaning that people are hoping Obama WILL get it done. Obama has been sufficiently vague as to allow each of the players to believe that he will come out ahead; that his particular enemy of choice will be crushed. Nothing has happened yet to dispel such fantasies.

The longer Obama delays - the further he kicks this can of worms down the road - the longer it festers, leaving any eventually agreed-on American policy to clean up a putrid mess. Or, we could just continue singing Kumbaya, start silencing critics, and pretend that all's well in Whoville. Eventually, it will dawn on India and others that they now stand alone; that the once great, sometimes bumbling, 'policeman of the world' has hung up his boots and retired. The rabble will fill the void; Faustian bargains will be struck all around, resulting in wickedness and back-stabbing betrayals.

As I see it, Obama's plan is to do nothing to antagonize anyone. If any nation's (or group's) mere existence should prove to be an obstacle to peace, a rational will be drawn up to support its removal. No ideals, no virtues, no grievance will ever be an excuse to raise one's hand against another. Victims will be required to submit, and brutality will become the standard by which the human pecking order is determined.

What we see happening now, albeit under different guise, is a reenactment of the Scopes (monkey) Trial and very possibly the practical consequence of a reversal of the original verdict – which would inexorably translate into the realization of Darwin’s 'survival of the fittest’ theory.