For most world leaders, shrewdness and cunning are more than good assets. They are survival requirements. Backstabbing is often a literal term. If you listen to the Democrat spin machine, Al Gore is just the guy to take care of these characters. Having spent 7½ years trotting across the globe, Gore is supposedly experienced in the ways of the world. Maybe it’s time we examined Gore’s record with world leaders.

Middle East

The Clinton Administration inherited a world alliance built by President Bush. Eight years later, the Middle East is a messy hotbed of unrest. The Arabs are angry with America. They even cut back oil production. Why? Because Clinton bombed their aspirin factories. Why? To distract us from impeachment. Why? Because he lied under oath. Why? Because he got caught nailing interns in the Oval Office. So today, we have high oil prices, growing inflation, a tumbling stock market and war in the Middle East, all because Bill Clinton couldn’t resist a big haired slut.

In the middle of all this, Clinton helped engineer the Israeli election of namby-pamby Ehud Barak, ousting no-nonsense Benjamin Netanyahu. Restless Arab countries drifted away from the alliance. The new land-for-peace strategy displayed supreme weakness. Yasser Arafat correctly smelled a feeble Israel and figured Clinton to be a self-serving gutless political goon, creating the most dangerous Middle East conditions in 20 years.

As the alliance unraveled into chaos, Al Gore pronounced Bill Clinton one of our greatest presidents.

Russia

During this time, the defeated Soviet Union was falling apart, drifting in a state of flux somewhere between enemy and ally. It was the perfect time for America to gently nudge the Russians towards democracy. The International Monetary Fund was coaxed into giving 40 billion dollars in financial aid to kick-start Russia’s new economy. Al Gore promptly fumbled almost every cent into the laps of the old Communist Mafia chieftains. Soon after, the Russian economy fell into the gutter, as Russian mobsters became more powerful than the government. Today, Russia is in shambles, ripe for a saber-rattling troublemaker to get elected. Like Vladimir Putin.

China

A Russian ally could have buffered the new kid on the block, China. That story starts with Bill Clinton, who apparently sold/lost/gave and/or traded our military defense secrets in exchange for a few million campaign dollars. Incredibly, Gore carried the water for Clinton’s elaborate campaign contribution money-laundering scheme, highlighted by the famous Buddhist Temple fiasco and millions of returned donations to suspects who fled back to China. Russia may have been a stupid blunder, but China was clearly engineered, and Gore was either an involved salesman or a delivery boy. Now, more accurate Chinese missiles are armed with our warhead designs, aimed at American cities.

So here’s the Gore scorecard: The Russians rolled him for 40 billion dollars, the Chinese scammed our defense technology for a few million campaign dollars, and the Arabs are fighting Israel and threatening our economy. And Gore? He was an integral part of it all.

Teddy Roosevelt’s quote, "Speak softly and carry a big stick," sums up the art of diplomacy. Of course, whoever has the biggest stick usually leads the walk. There is a long line of inept bureaucrats who didn’t get this. Neville Chamberlain returned to England proclaiming "Peace in our time," with Hitler. Twenty-million dead later, we made peace the hard way. Jimmy Carter believed if we all held hands and sang Kumbaya, the Soviet Union would fall in love with us and we’d live happily ever after. Over his four years, the Soviets took control of ten nations. Peace came soon after Reagan mused "The bombing starts in 15 minutes." Current diplomacy consists of sending glowering Madeline Albright around the world ticking people off, followed by a throng of journalists dutifully quoting Clinton’s 8-second sound bite claiming success. The images are sent back to CNN and replayed 48 times a day, making it all seem real. But it’s not.

Giving Gore credit for vast international experience is like giving the Yugo factory credit for building cars. Experience doesn’t equal competence. Like taking a mulligan every hole, we only fool ourselves. With the Clinton administration, it is hard to tell where moral irresponsibility ends and naïveté begins. Now, as Gore prepares to "assume the position," leaders around the world are panting with anticipation.

You can e-mail your comments to Tom at Coolhair1@aol.com.

Copyright © 2000 by Tom Adkins.
All Rights Reserved.

-Published with permission