Ah, I See That the World is a Mess

This post, about the Wikileaks revelations, is no longer timely and what follows is a polished version of an unfinished draft. However, I have a perfectly valid excuse for not finishing it (my computer crapped out and I only just got a new one) and a perfectly good post so screw it.

In America, we have been told many times the story of how the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War created a new view of politics and an era of cynicism that stretches through the present day. It was these two events, we are often told, that proved to Americans that their leaders were not only fallible, but also sleazy, underhanded, and entirely untrustworthy.

However, we were still left with the idea that the world's leaders were at least usually intelligent and, in some way, usually capable. We may have been forced to recognize the unforgivable personal faults of leaders but we were at least left with the possibility that these leaders would not walk us off the edge of a cliff...not unknowingly, at least.

But this too is now a shattered illusion. Take a mental trip around the world as revealed by WikiLeaks and you find an international community of leaders populated by sycophants, evil and creepy manipulators, and generally inept leaders.




The Nukes

There is one leader who is intelligent, creative, dedicated, and somewhat selfless but his name is Kim Jong-Il and he uses his intellectual faculties to run the world's most unpredictable nuclear state. He may be selfless but he is selfless in his liberal use of aggressive force to adjust expectations for his son's reign. He may be sharp but that asset is used to vex world leaders trying to insure peace.

But perhaps this unpalatable reality is regrettably acceptable for the leader of a nuclear state, because at least we have predictability in a singular will to survive. We need only wade cautiously into volatile Pakistan to find a situation that is scarier for its volatility and friendliness to Islamic terrorists. Here we find a de facto tripartite ruling alliance between the intelligence services (ISI), the military, and the elected government. The powerful military may dislike the pro-Western proclivities of the elected government and the intelligence service is more likely to support the Taliban and al-Qaeda than the US & its allies. Meanwhile, the elected government may be in favor of fighting the Taliban because of its leader's relatively pro-Western proclivities but that leader is crippled by his fear that opposing factions may assassinate him should he be seen as too cozy with the US. Say the Saudis: "We think 10 times before approaching them.

Now travel to Iran, where the man some had hoped was bringing at least a slightly moderating voice - Ayatollah Khomeini - may be drug addicted and bi-polar, with little political power and concerns only for the well-being of his sons. That leaves the ever-extreme Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who apparently presents the most liberal voice of his inner circle. And, ah yes, Iran may be purchasing goods for enhancing its nuclear capacity from North Korea.

And Still, the Fools Will Suffer No Criticism

We might be excused now for wanting to visit a friendlier state in search of some R&R. So let us not travel to France, where President Nicolas Sarkozy is a man whose frequent discontent turns quickly to wrath and whose wrath is feared above all by those positioned to criticize. Descriptions convey the image of a man whose mercuriality has him bouncing around issues while pulling in his wake scared advisers who only want to keep him happy.

In fact, let us not bother with Europe at all, where leaders scramble over one another for the chance to hang onto President Obama's coattails. Even the UK, America's best friend and closest confidant, should be viewed warily as it undergoes a radical austerity reform led by yet another supposedly unimaginative leader.

The Stubborn Fool Who Plays Chess With Superpowers

From Europe, travel south across the Mediterranean to Libya and observe Brotherly Leader and Guide of the Revolution Moammar Gadhafi. This anxious and paranoid man sees the world only through advisers who value above all not criticizing their BLGOR.

But with this man, don't be satisfied with the facade of plastic surgery and skittish advisers. There is something slightly sinister, as Gadhafi has played poker with more powerful nations and each one folded. He exercised significant control over Canada, scared Switzerland, and coerced the United Kingdom. Somehow, he manages to be a shrewd negotiator and colossal wielder of power while being paranoid and insulated from adverse information. Something seems amiss but that missing nugget of information seems just out reach.

And the Colonialists Continue to Find New & Inventive Ways of Colonizing

Lost among all this, though, is that wherever we go, we never quite leave America's sphere of influence and we never quite see that influence holstered. Take Austria, where the US acts angry, offended, and even incredulous that the country's leaders want nothing from the US and would much rather be a neutral nation where constructive negotiation can happen. They don't want to be a country desperately trying to claw onto the global power struggle and drag itself up and this infuriates the US because, well, the US is too used to getting its own way.