As we survey the domestic and international terrain over the next two years it should be apparent to all that US ascendancy and triumphalism will not characterize the period. This will be a time for modesty and humility, not hubris.
Excessive debt, both personal and governmental, will inevitably and severely curtail spending, with all that implies. An over extended military limits our options against adversaries. A lame duck President and overall governmental gridlock promise programs that are limited in both size and scope.
The best we can hope for over the next two years would be to "Consolidate Gains, Cut our Losses and Repair the Damage". Where do we start? The first examples that come to mind.
If the results of the recent election represent a breakthrough of other voices into what had been an administrative bubble, that is a net gain for America. This gain has to be allowed to fully play out and be consolidated into the institutions of government.
Our biggest, most devastating losses, have taken place in Iraq. How do we cut those losses in ways that do not incur further perhaps worse sacrifices?
One critical area that has been damaged is our standing among other nations. The challenges facing us today and far into the future will require full throated international cooperation. It is not there today and will not come easily in the future. Repair in this sphere will require an extended period of rebuilding trust.
4 comments on 2007 Consolidate Gains / Cut Losses /Repair Damage
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Slywoody3
said 1 years ago
Under nuclear protection, the US troops can occupy the Iraq/Iran oilfields until the national debt is paid off. This should deter terrorism to the extent Homeland Security is not needed.[SMILE]
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fixed845inc
said 1 years ago
Pretty sly. Sounds like a job for Dick Cheney. [COOL]
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htargett
said 1 years ago
I just don't buy the concept that the world loved us 6 years ago and now hates us. Europe loved us because we protected them from the Soviets until it became unnecessary and the romance turned against us, Everyone else loves us and always has for what they can get from us! When the getting gets tough, the love disappears! This may seem cynical and it may be but I have always felt this way!
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fixed845inc
said 1 years ago
What you say is true but it still was possible to elicit international cooperation as happened in the first Gulf War.
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