With summer fast approaching, some students are no doubt preparing to shut off their brains and turn on their TVs for three months. But if you do happen to come across CNN while channel surfing, don't be surprised to see the following five stories:
1. The Sinking of the S.S. Bush: Every week there's a new negative story about the Bush administration. From Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and the fired prosecutors to the lapses at Walter Reed, it seems as if the Bush administration has an uncanny ability to keep itself mired in scandal and accusations of incompetence.
Although supporters of Bush may argue that many of these scandals are out of the president's control, the culture the Bush administration has engendered - one in which acting above the law is the norm - has fostered these scandals. It almost seems as if Bush is the captain of the Titanic, content to go down with his ship - and take others with him in the process - in order to preserve a loyalty to himself and his failed policies.
A perfect example is Gonzales. At best, Gonzales mismanaged the firing of prosecutors then misspoke about the situation. At worst, he handed it incompetently and then lied about it. Gonzales is a political liability to Bush, and many Republicans have called for his resignation. But Bush now says he has more faith in Gonzales, even after Gonzales babbled like an amnesiac idiot for hours before the Senate Judicial Committee.
I used to support President Bush. But I can't support this idiocy any longer and I am counting down the days until Jan. 20, 2009. It doesn't even matter at this point whether it's a Democrat or Republican who replaces him. Surely, a candidate from either part couldn't do a worse job if they tried.
2. Genocide in Darfur: The ongoing genocide in Darfur is an embarrassment to the world, yet world leaders are acting like cowards when it comes to stopping it. Although I appreciate the grassroots movement to raise awareness about Darfur - including the efforts of Emory students - the reality is, only world leaders have the power to stem the slaughter
The Bush administration has declared Darfur a genocide. This places the responsibility on the United States to end it. But the United States is not alone in its inaction.
Europe bears an even stronger responsibility, because European leaders routinely talk about Darfur, yet fail to take action. "The actions of the Sudanese government are completely unacceptable," British Prime Minister Tony Blair said at a European Union summit in late March.
"The suffering is unbearable," German Chancellor Angela Merkel remarked at the same summit. "I want to state frankly that we have to consider stronger sanctions."
But talk is cheap when it isn't accompanied by action. There are plenty of clichés that can be used to describe the criminal lack of action on the parts of world leaders. But I think that Theodore Roosevelt summed it up best when he said, "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood."
The United States, the European Union and the U.N. Security Council must force Sudan to accept a strong international peacekeeping force to end this disaster. Saying Darfur is bad doesn't accomplish anything.
3. Iraq: Each of these last three issues have the privlege of being one-time members of Bush's Axis of Evil.
On Iraq, there's not even that much too add to the discussion. Just turn on the news. It's bad and getting worse. More Americans are being killed, sectarian violence is crippling the country and Iraq is falling apart. Democrats have pushed through troop withdrawal deadline, but Bush says he'll veto any such bill. Iraq will remain a dominant story in American politics for a long time.
4. Iran: With President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad leading the rhetorical charge, Iran insists it will continue to pursue nuclear power (and, most likely, nuclear weapons). The United States wants tougher sanctions, European leaders want more negotiations. Will a solution be reached? Will Iran be able to become fully nuclear? Will a war be started with Iran? This could be the biggest issue of the summer.
5. North Korea: The forgotten third wheel of the Axis of Evil. The United States and other regional powers have reached an agreement with Pyongyang that requires North Korea to stop enriching nuclear fuel in exchange for economic and energy aid.
This agreement is fragile and could fall apart at anytime, but for now look for potential positive developments from the Korean Peninsula as the administration keeps its focus on Iraq and Iran.
Benjamin van der Horst is a College sophomore from Cincinnati. He is managing editor of The Emory Political Review and Executive Director of CSAmerica.
This ran on 4/27/07.
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