by James Glaser
December 10, 2002

Have you ever seen a bar fight? Usually there is one guy that is looking for attention, has had a little too much to drink, and will take on some one he thinks he can beat. Then there is the guy that is way too drunk and will take on anyone. Sometimes you have two guys that are both looking for a fight and those turn out to be real brawls.

But the most common bar room fight is one guy thinking he can impress everyone if he can beat up someone. Having been in the Marine Corp, I saw my fair share of these encounters. The guy trying to make an impression will study the bar and pick out some one he thinks he will have no problem with. Most often the chosen opponent is taken by surprise and has no desire to fight or he is the little guy that is in no position to put up much resistance.

The United States in the last few decades has become that bar room fighter that looks for the little guy to fight. We have taken on Granada, Panama, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Granada and Panama we took by surprise, but with Iraq and Afghanistan we did the whole bar room "swagger and push" routine. The swagger and push method of starting a fight, lets the whole world know that there is going to be a fight, so watch and see how tough we really are.

Taking on Afghanistan was like beating a guy in his wheel chair. Now George Bush has decided that we should take on Iraq. Taking on Iraq is like taking on some one whose legs you already broke. All of these countries we have fought are weak and little. Just looking at the might of America coming at them must have been a fearsome sight.

We still haven't figured that we are the biggest brute around and most in this world are afraid of us. They don't hate our freedom or do they envy our riches. They are just afraid that we will come in and crush them like we have so many others.

George Bush and therefore America is out in the world swaggering and pushing for attention. We don't need to do that. We threaten and others quake in their boots. Not because they are afraid to fight, but because they have seen all the thousands of women and children that die when ever the United States gets in to a fight. Our fights are always in their backyards and only their loved ones get killed.

Some times we are surprised like when a bunch of rag tag fighters in Somalia kicked out butt, or when nineteen men from "friendly" countries really showed us what a surprise attack was.

That is what is going to happen again. George Bush will swagger us into many more attacks because the world is getting sick of living in fear of us. We are the biggest and meanest country now. We don't have to prove that to anyone. George Bush wants the attention and fear that his pushing around little countries will get him.

I find that very embarrassing and foolish. The whole bar will be waiting for us some day.