Bush's Calamitous Blunders Reminiscent of the Collapse of the Roman Empire 
"In the pursuit of security, Mr. Bush and the Republican-led Congress waged a pre-emptive war on a nation that had not attacked us (and posed little threat), thus creating a breeding ground for terrorists where none had previously existed, sacrificed the lives of tens, perhaps hundreds of thousands, both Americans and foreign, spent hundreds of billions of dollars, curtailed our precious liberty and eroded our nation's standing in the world."
Now Mr. Bush dramatically warns us that intelligence reports indicate al Qaeda is stronger than ever and uses this fact as a legitimate reason for continuing the Iraq War. He insists that continuing the Iraq War will keep terrorists off U.S. soil.
What a line of twisted reasoning! He is desperately attempting to get himself and his Republican robot Congress off the hook for the colossal failure of the Iraq War disaster spectacle.
U.S. service personnel are fighting the Taliban that the U.S. placed in power under President Ronald Reagan.
The Taliban was placed in power when the U.S. was fighting Russia, to gain control of oil access with the oil piped across to Afghanistan to seaports.
However, when it was determined that the Taliban was inadequately guarding those strategic oil pipes, they had to be replaced, it was decided, and so the Bush Administration went to war in Afghanistan to overthrow the Taliban.
The value of those oil pipes running across Afghanistan to the sea apparently triggered a war at this point to oust the Taliban from power that the U.S. had in effect placed in power.
A serious problem in the Afghanistan War now surfaced. When the U.S. was training the Taliban to overthrow the other regime, the U.S. shared the latest high warfare secrets. Now U.S. service personnel are forced to face U.S. high tech war systems in overthrowing the Taliban, which is U.S. trained.
It begins to seem like perpetual war games with bodies piling up on all sides in the complex conflict, could it be that oil access is the overriding reason for it all? While these nightmare Middle East wars continue, how did some U.S. citizens celebrate July 4?
The Seattle Times devoted a full page to ways that U.S. citizens honor our freedom fighters serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. An Associated Press article of July 5 out of New York City reported:
"In a gut busting showdown that combined drama, daring and indigestion, Joey Chestnut emerged Wednesday as the world's hot dog eating champion, knocking off six time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a record setting, yet repulsive triumph. Chestnut, the great red, white and blue hope in the annual Nathan's famous international contest broke his own world record by devouring 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes, one every 10.9 seconds, before a screaming crowd in Coney Island."
Over one half of U.S. citizens are clinically overweight and one-third are dangerously so. How appropriate that an obese population should cheer on July 4 for gluttony champs.
Bread and circuses blinded ancient Romans as their 600-year civilization was collapsing around them while they foolishly overextended their empire.
In the October 2006 issue of Vanity Fair, Niall Ferguson writes of ancient Rome before its collapse:
"In a study that properly begins with the first signs of imperial overstretch. Until the time of Emperor Julian (A.D. 331-63) Rome could still confidently send its legions as far as the River Tigris. Yet, Julian's invasion of Mesopotamia (present day Iraq, but called Mesopotamia under Persian rule) proved to be his undoing.
"British historian Edward Gibbon explains that Julian was victorious at Ctesiphon, 20 miles from Baghdad. But Baghdad's scorched earth policy response to Rome's proud military legions sent the Romans back to Rome in defeat."
Here is one striking parallel. At first it appeared that the U.S. had triumphed in the Iraq War. Who can forget George Bush bedecked in a flight suit on that naval carrier near San Diego Harbor declaring dramatically, "Mission accomplished!" as the eyes of the world watched in shock and awe.
The mission has never been accomplished. Could it be that George Bush's overreach has ended in sectarian slaughter paralleling Roman Emperor Julian's fatal mistake.
Egypt, Greece, Rome - The great empires of the ancient world all collapsed. It wasn't only forces fighting them but the corruption and inner decay and decadence converging to achieve their ultimate downfall.
With a national debt larger than all previous national debtors combined and U.S. forces in over 60 countries, and our manufacturing base outsourced as Middle East death and destruction continues, Bush's legacy could join that of Julian in crushing a mighty empire.
Read about Emperor Julian's fatal mistake rushing into Iraq and pray that the Iraq War will not lead to our ultimate downfall as it did for Rome and Emperor Julian.
KEYWORDS: Bush and the Iraq War, U.S. Parallels to the Collapse of the Roman Empire
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