Bush’s wheel of fortune

Just when it looked like George Bush’s public approval ratings would continue to languish in the cellar, he gets a breather with news of Abu Mussab al-Zarqawi’s death last week. The al-Qaeda linked terrorist had been the biggest scourge in the United States’ efforts to defeat the insurgency in Iraq, and the US forces finally succeeded in getting him after a three-year hunt. The American president’s secret trip to Iraq took almost a whole month of planning and clandestine meetings - much like the James Bond movies with the cloak-and-dagger CIA operations doing a lot of intel work. A risky trip according to George Bush himself. Initially, the only ones who knew about the trip were Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld. During the Camp David-Iraq Summit which was used as a smokescreen – Bush, who is known for being an early sleeper, simply said he was retiring for the night. Instead, he took a car to board a waiting, unmarked chopper – not the usual green and white helicopter known as Marine One – that flew him directly to Andrews Air Force Base.

In the middle of the night at the base, Bush boarded the back of a jumbo jet alternately used as Air Force One and whose call sign had been dispensed with for the 11-hour flight to Iraq. For the duration of the secret trip, the US Armed Forces satellite system was programmed to monitor any slight movement in Iraq. Shortly before the Air Force jumbo jet landed in Iraq, Bush joined the pilot Col. Mark Tillman at the cockpit, the same one who flew him to Iraq in 2003. US Air Force radar airplanes equipped with night vision made sure there were no other planes that would fly during Bush’s six-minute Black Hawk helicopter ride to the Green Zone. And how much did this whole operation cost the American taxpayers? They say three times the cost of a $20-million price tag on a regular overseas Air Force One trip. Even Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki only found out five minutes before Bush came inside the room where they met. The Iraqi prime minister was shocked and tongue-tied upon seeing the US president – he could not say anything for a couple of minutes before getting back his composure. Originally, he was supposed to have a video conference with Bush at the American Embassy in Baghdad.

The Iraq visit and that photo-op with Prime Minister al-Maliki shows just how important that country is to Bush’s political fortune. A few days after the announcement, a slight improvement in Americans’ attitude towards the war was recorded. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll revealed that 48 percent said they believe the US will win the war in Iraq, up from 39 percent in April. Bush’s approval ratings also went up to 38 percent, a little better than an all time low of 31 percent last month. But even Bush realizes that the death of Zarqawi does not necessarily spell the end of terrorism. Already, a militant group calling itself the Council of Holy Warriors has announced that Abu Hamza al-Muhajir will replace Zarqawi. Barely a week later, several car bomb attacks were already launched in Kirkuk ostensibly in retaliation for Zarqawi’s death. Zarqawi’s deputy Abu Abdel-Rahman al-Iraqi had warned that their leader’s death will only increase their persistence, and the enmity against America and its allies will continue.

Admittedly, it will be hard to stop terrorism. Zarqawi’s legacy has gone beyond the borders of Iraq, spreading his message of hatred over the Internet and across terrorist cells all over the world. Rightly or wrongly, the age-old hatred between Muslims and Christians spawned by the Crusades in the 11th century has fed this enmity and turned terrorism into a global virus that continues to claim lives. It was Osama bin Laden who upped the ante with 9-11 when he attacked the World Trade Center, as a result inflaming American fear and paranoia over anyone who showed Middle Eastern origins.

Author John Updike’s latest novel, Terrorist, has spawned a lot of controversy because it paints a sympathetic picture of a terrorist. But it is thought provoking because it shows that under the careful teaching of believers, the lure of terrorism will continue to be attractive especially to vulnerable young men. As it is, the threat of terrorism still hovers over America, and will continue to change the American way of life that 9-11 drastically altered. The war in Iraq is already taking its toll on the US, which has spent billions in taxpayers’ money and has seen the death of 2,500 soldiers since 2003. No matter what "Bushy baby" promises the Americans that the war will end soon, it most likely will not. As a matter of fact, the US Air Force has been so desperate to recruit more soldiers that they are reportedly paying as much as $20,000 to volunteers as joining fee. The "Uncle Sam Wants You" campaign during World War II could now probably read, "Uncle Sam needs you. We now pay $20,000 joining fee."

One could say however that Bush’s luck has a way of turning up especially during critical times. Zarqawi’s death – a rare piece of good news coming as it is on the heels of Hurricane Katrina, the CIA leak issue, the Haditha killings, including insinuations of corruption in the $18-billion reconstruction contracts of Halliburton which Dick Cheney used to head as CEO — is being hailed by Republican politicians who anticipate rough sailing in the coming November mid-term elections. Inside White House sources tell us that Bush wants to leave revered like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, for whom he has the greatest admiration. He wants to be known as a great president, perhaps privately wishing that he would be hailed like FDR - known as a "war president" who was able to lift his country up amid great odds. With luck, Bush’s fortune could continue to be on the upswing if Americans start getting convinced that they will win the war and their economic wheel starts to turn.

Like Bush, GMA also wants to leave her mark as a good president doing her best to turn this country around. It may seem a tall order (no pun intended) but with a strong political will coupled with a sound economic policy, GMA may just pull it off and move the country towards the right direction and perhaps, change its fortune. As they say, politics is like the wheel of fortune. Today you’re down, the next day you’re up. Or as Joseph Estrada put it, "weather-weather lang yan." It’s been said that GMA’s fortune is akin to that of her ex-future phone pal. George Bush’s political wheel of fortune is beginning to turn and just maybe – GMA’s wheel will also begin to turn.

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