War Is All Around Us

Besides a failing economy, the incoming Obama administration has one thing they can count on: that's War. And, most importantly, there is the possibility of war in almost every corner of the world.

There is no doubt that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan aren't going to be wrapped up anytime soon. Then, this weekend's pounding of Hamas and the residents of the Gaza Strip by the Israelis just proves to reinforce the fragility of peace in the Middle East. But, that's not hardly where all the tensions stop.

Just Prior to Christmas, additional Pakistani troops were moved to their adjacent border with India in a new and more ominous troop build up between these two nuclear powers (See Full Story). The U.S. is caught in the middle on this one because both are our allies. But, the consequences of a war involving Pakistan and anyone else can seriously hurt our efforts in our war on terror.

Much closer to home, and rarely ever talked about, are the tensions between Columbia and Venezuela and Ecuador and Columbia (Venezuela's close political friend). My guess is that we could see war in this area within a year's time (See Full Story). Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, may just want to use a war with Columbia as a means to bolster his sagging popularity. The real question is whether the U.S. will intervene and assist Columbia as our ally and as a means of keeping Chavez from expanding his scope of power.

Then, there's the biggest tinderbox of all. That's the situation between Iran and Israel; with Iran obtaining and possibly using nuclear weapons against Israel. While no war exists now, this situation could be the biggest test for the Obama administration with Israel poised to stop Iran before they can complete their fulfillment of having nuclear weapons. While President of Iran, Mr. Ahmadinejad (that's All*mad*and*jihad), claims that his nuclear program is only for peaceful energy, the whole world knows differently. Mr. Obama claims he can put this situation to bed by simply talking to Ahmadinejad; something he feels that Bush has been neglectful in doing. However, that is a political lie on the part of Obama. For at least three years, key members of Europe (France, England, and Germany) have been holding talks with Iran; and, in 2006, the United States offered to have direct talks if Iran would suspend it's uranium enrichment activities while the talks are ongoing (See Full Story). Of course, Mr. Obama would talk without any preconditions. Sort of like Nero: "fiddling while Rome burns"!

I personally think that Obama might find himself a little over his head on foreign affairs. He's got most of the Clinton people on his team that failed to get an accord between Israel and Palestine while Bill Clinton was in office. His Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, hasn't got a history of being the diplomat. Just look back at her miserable failure in getting support for a Federal health care system at the beginning of Bill Clinton's first term. That was a domestic diplomatic disaster between the Republicans, the Democrats, Insurance Companies, and the medical industry (See Full Story). Now she's going international with that negotiation style? To me, the political animal, Barack Obama, made the Hillary choice for all the wrong domestic reasons and without considering the importance of having a tactful handler in foreign affairs.

What ever happens, the next four years could be very exciting and, hopefully, not disastrous.