The Mideast: Two weeks ago, George W. Bush told Israel to end its invasion of Palestinian territory "without delay," then sent his Secretary of State to back it up. Israel ignored and defied him. In response, the U.S. did nothing and Colin Powell went home. This is not impressive superpower behaviour. Other governments took note. Egypt's president cancelled a meeting with Colin Powell and didn't even bother making up an excuse.

It was especially unimpressive since the Mideast is the most resoluble crisis in the world. Almost everyone knows the answer: a small but viable state for the Palestinians with security guarantees for Israel. It involves one sticky point: Israel's illegal settlements must be removed. I know the Israeli government denies this would solve the problem, which they claim is the "real" Palestinian motive: to destroy Israel. But the point is, the U.S. is among those who feel it can be solved this way, yet they failed to press. Just as striking is the fact that they could impose this solution without military threats, by sheer financial pressure, since Israel is massively dependent on U.S aid. But they didn't act.

Venezuela: As they say in Latin America, there has never been a coup in the U.S. because there's no American embassy there. Last week, the coup happened in Venezuela, ousting elected president Hugo Chavez. In previous weeks, "members of the country's diverse opposition" had visited the U.S. embassy (The Washington Post) and met "senior members of the Bush administration" in Washington who sent "informal, subtle signals that we don't like this guy" (The New York Times). The Pentagon spokesperson said she was "not aware" if the U.S. gave military support to the coup, and Bush spokesman Ari Fleischer suggested the President was pleased. There are many reasons they wanted Hugo Chavez out -- his social reforms, his opposition to bombing Afghanistan ("fighting terrorism with terrorism"). But never mind that, it's all standard, like U.S.-backed coups in Guatemala (1954) or Chile (1973) -- down to the pot-banging street protests and U.S.-allied labour leaders. They all come from the same coup cookie-cutter. What was different is that this time the coup crumbled and Hugo Chavez is back. For the first time, the superpower failed in a back-yard coup.

Afghanistan: It was a total success, right, except they're still there and still haven't accomplished their main objectives: catching Osama bin Laden and destroying his network. Overthrowing the government of Afghanistan was never more than a means to that end. This week, they said Osama bin Laden probably slipped through their fingers in December, and George Bush warned Americans that more terror attacks are likely, since "cells" are still out there. He might have added that the ranks of recruits to terror will enlarge considerably after his own failure to stem the Israeli assault -- among Palestinians and elsewhere. This is not a question of good or evil; it's an observable, predictable fact.

Are there signs of unease in the U.S. itself, despite the polls and the bland wall of superpatriotism shown on CNN and other public faces of the superpower? Well, there are a few straws in the wind. I don't know exactly what to make of them, but I'll pass them on. Michael Moore's book, Stupid White Men, is in its fifth week atop The New York Times's bestseller list, despite a relative media blackout of it, and its attack on everything George Bush's America is about. Veteran American critic of U.S. policy Noam Chomsky finds his appearances mobbed and applauded. British journalist Robert Fisk says he was shocked at the self-criticism and doubt he found during a recent U.S. tour. People in the Midwest told him the Bush presidency lacked legitimacy because he hadn't won the election. Of course, people go to see speakers they want to hear and dissidents always like to believe they're popular. The South African Communist Party had a well-known member called Comrade-The-Contradictions-Are-Sharpening, who explained at every meeting that the the revolution was about to occur. On the other hand, eventually it did, sort of. It seems to me something is happening in the U.S., but I don't know what it is.

As for Canada, it makes you think. Do we want our forces folded even further into theirs, under the new Northern Command they just announced? And those Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan -- proving again that the fighting there is far from over: Should our government have joined the U.S. contingent as it did, or should it have chosen instead to be part of the international peacekeeping force, helping to provide at least some counterbalance to the stumbly sole superpower?

© 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc

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