Summer Ending - Biarritz, France
September,2005

At the turn of the century and into the New Millennium, the United States of America seemed as powerful as ever. America had elected its Republican incumbent President who had obtained a clear mandate tu impose with a growing majority a conservative neo-liberal regime to spread its tentacles of economic and political influence over continents, states, nations, and individuals all over the globe. Nothing seemed to indicate that the forthcoming events would show the vulnerability of the Almighty U.S.A., as the world entered into the Age of Aquarius and the Era of Ideas & Information.

On September 11, 2001 the nation realized how its symbol of economic power was nothing more than a pile of bent steel, concrete rubble and the tragic tomb for thousands of fellow citizens from the City of New York. It was difficult to believe that the all-powerful U.S.A. that had spread its military and economic influence across the oceans and over the lives of millons of persons in all continents had succumbed to the cruel strategy of fanatic integrist terrorism. While the American nation winced in pain and disbelief, the rest of the world was stunned by the tragic events that ocurred in the first hours of that fateful 9-11. Never before had anyone considered that the self-proclaimed "Defenders of Freedom" since the end of World War II would bite the dust in the hands of a few measly terrorists based in the mountains of a nations that many Americans didn't even know its name, Afghanistan.

It seemed incredible that several strategic targets could be hit in such a short time span and thousands of lives shattered in manner of a couple of hours. No one seemed to lead the almighty nation precisely at 9:00 a.m. that fateful morning and much less during the hours that followed the series of attacks to different targets in the seats of the economic and political power of the country, New York & Washington, D.C..

Fours years after, we stand agape to see that all measures to protect the United States of America on one front have left it forlorn before other dangers. The "Almighty America" seems to be in the hands of leaders that improvise more than plan the government of its own fate and future.

Seen from an objective stance, from the point of view of the other balancing western power-bloc, it is inevitable for a citizen of the European Union to evaluate negatively the stubborn and obsessive American point of view towards the relevant issues that face all nations in the New Millennium.

Without subestimiating the relevance of the terrorist movements that menace all nations, it is impossible not to call the attention of our fellow inhabitants across the Atlantic to the other dangers that lead to the disasters of the magnitude that the State of Lousiana, particicularly the City of Orleans, has lived during the end of 2005's summer. True to say, America has lived numerous natural disasters over the years that have destroyed towns all over the U.S. geography but never had a hurricane sowed the seed of disaster to such extent that nationwide discontent has spread like wildfire.

Perhaps the terrorist destruction of the Twin Towers and the attack to the Pentagon marked the start of a national conscience of the high level of administrative incompentce in the world's most powerful military regime. Today, viewing the news about the rescue missions in New Orleans, with New York squads cooperating, we had to ask ourselves what links where there between the terrorist attacke of 9-11 and the flooding of New Orleans. We only found one honest reply - an ineffective Administration.

After being elected for a first mandate in November, 1999, George W. Bush became the first U.S. President of the New Millennium. Before him lay the challenges of new technologies in a progressively globalized developing world. No American President can ever forget that his is the responsability of ruling the most powerful nation in the world; that his decisions and policy-making will have repercussions not only on the citizens of his own great nation but also on the lives and freedom of other citizens of other nations & states across the globe.

Since being sworn into office on January 20, 2001, President Bush has lived a great number of decisive moments in world events. However, his was the burden of "Command Responsability", as it was for the 42 other U.S. Presidents before him. This principle is imbedded in the American way-of-life and is an undeniable basis of the U.S. Government System. Morever, as Governor of the Lone-Star State, George W. Bush was a firm defender of personal responsibility in the shaping of public policy.

We do not pretend to analyze the merits or flaws of a President's policy but we are indeed interested in the consequences of the evident lack of organizational administrative coherence of an Administration headed by a supposedly experienced policy-maker and public administrator (6 years as Governor of Texas) such as George W. Bush.

The hard blow of 9-11 at the very start of his first term in office has often served to justify his decision to invade Iraq as part of an overall scheme in the conflictive oil-producing Middle East countries. Nevertheless, already at that stage, the Bush Administration had other fronts to face and other issues to resolve, which in more ways than one always converged on one vital factor - Economics.

In spite of the evident importance of applying new restrictions that serve to curtail new terrorist incursions into the seats of economic Western Power, what the Bush Administration seems to have forgotten is that the globe is under the risks of climatic change and the application of the Kyoto Protocol as an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention for Climatic Change is inevitable to control the carbon dioxide emissions of industries across the world. This amendment is in force since February 15, 2005 as ratified and approved by at least 80 % of the U.N. Assembly members. The outstanding exception is the United States of America, precisely the producer of two-thirds of the world's carbon dioxide emissions today.

The presence of industrial gas emissions that circulate in the atmosphere is responsible for the "greenhouse effect" that alters the atmospheric layers, permitting penetration of damaging rays that finally affect planet balance; hence causing important natural reactions due to the overheating of the Earth crust.

The obstinate American posture of non-recognition of the Kyoto Protocol is said to be in defense of the American-based industries, producers of carbon dioxide emissions, and of the economic stability of the American nation. However, what is never made known is that said emissions do not reside only over the United States territory buy rather that these drift to contaminate other zones of the globe in all directions and across the oceans. The ravaging force of the natural phenomenons such as hurricanes that commence south of the U.S.A. is incremented due to the negative effects of climatic change and the diminishing presence of rain forests in South & Central American as well as Asia, precisely due to the "acid rainfall" caused by CFC and similar industrial gases.

Today, the U.S.A. licks its wounds after a major "natural disaster" that may have caused the death to thousands of citizens, just as it did during the tragic terrorist attacks on 9-11. The economic repercussions for many other thousands of citizens are still unforeseeable, not to mention the elevated costs of reconstruction of a devasted zone that has practically wiped out one of the U.S. most popularly tourist havens, New Orleans & surroundings. We have no doubt that the victims are the citizens, in the same manner as New Yorkers were the principal losers in the terrorist attacks of the Twin Towers. However, the never asked question is - WHO GAINS FROM IT ALL ?

Whereas the 9-11 attacks required of a reprisal invasion into the heart of the oil-producing states of the Middle East, the Lousiana devastation will have no foreign agressor to blame. No other than the negligence and obstinance of the U.S. Administration will have to assume "Command Responsibility".

The so-called "natural disasters" are in order in the different states of the United State of America from now on. And no one but the duly-elected officials, from President Bush downward, will be responsible for same. The need of a national environmental conscience is in order and the U.S. Administration has to set the example.

We ask ourselves whether the personal gains of a few, both in the Middle East issue as well as in the environmental front, will continue obliging the American President and his Administration to look elsewhere while the citizenry suffer the consequences. In our minds stand out the evident profits for not a few U.S. corporations present in Afghanistan, Iraq and other Middle East States. Now, we ask ourselves which companies are going to benefit from the reconstruction of the devasted zone.

Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, citizens like ourselves are ready to offer support and Humanitarian Aid and the governments of the European Union have even furnished economic support and liberated their oil reserves to support the U.S. Government. We wonder what economic resources have the huge U.S. corporations benefitting from the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and Iraq liberated or turned over to the Bush Administration to aid their fellow citizens.

It saddens observers to see that U.S. corporations involved in industry & construction are ready and willing to do profitable business in any part of the world without considering the harmful consequences to the citizens of the world.

Perhaps this can explain to American citizens in the different states of the U.S.A. the growing impopularity of Americans and their public servants in all continents. There is a growing feeling that the Bush Administration is keen on favoring any and all American business ventures at any price.

Now the tide is turning and Nature is passing its toll on American environmental policy. As an expert on environmental issues, we have observed that the growing concern worldwide on environmental protection is the only possible approach to natural disaster control. The avarice of a few and the negligence and irresponsibility of those governing the destinies of their countries will be the cause of a breach between those of us that wish a better world to live in and those who want to make profits at the expense of the majority.

For us, people of this kind are just as worthless as the fanatic terrorists that cause death, pain and suffer. The "environmental terrorist", as we have labelled them, are equally despicable. Their destruction may not be felt in a single bombing attempt or have immediate consequences but in the medium-long term, they will have caused as many deaths, as much pain & suffering and definitely will end up contributing to the erradication of Humanity. At the minimum, they will have robbed us of quality of living.

We wonder if the great American Nation is aware that its Administration is contributing to the possible dusk of progress and the slow death of our planet.