Khushwant Toor writes from Toronto

GEORGE W. BUSH, acting president of the United States of America is due to step down as the 43rd president of the United States of America on January 20, 2008. What kind of legacy he wanted to leave and what has he left America with are the questions being fired at him at each and every press conference being held during the last few days of his tenure.

From being booted in Iraq to admitting there were no weapons of mass destruction there, to defending himself about the wrong decisions he made, George W. Bush seems to be having a hard time passing his final days in the oval office.

At his exit interview with the reporters in Washington D.C. last Monday, Bush showed anger at times when presented with some of the main criticisms of his time in office. "I think it's a good, strong record," he said.

"You know, presidents can try to avoid hard decisions and therefore avoid controversy. That's just not my nature."

When asked about the battered image America has acquired overseas, due to his policies and due to harsh interrogation tactics, the creation of a detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the decision to go to war in Iraq without a mandate from the United Nations. He showed clear anger and said "I disagree with this assessment, you know that people view America in a dim light," he said. "It may be damaged amongst some of the elite. But people still understand America stands for freedom."

“You go to Africa, you ask Africans about America’s generosity and compassion; go to India and ask about ... their view of America. Go to China and ask…” “Now, no question, parts of Europe have said that we shouldn’t have gone to war in Iraq without a mandate, but those are a few countries. Most countries in Europe listened to what 1441 said, which is disclose, disarm or face serious consequences,” he said, referring to the UN Security Council resolution.

He admitted being wrong in giving an optimistic victory speech before a giant "Mission Accomplished" banner in 2003. However, says going to Iraq was not a mistake. In a separate interview with CNN host Lary King, he blamed Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction on to CIA. And said he is not angry at CIA but disappointed for the wrong information given by CIA.

When asked in the exit interview by a reporter about the slow federal response in evacuating Katrina victims, president again showed great resentment and justified himself by saying that the victims were evacuated as soon as the storm passed. Where as the eye witnesses including the CNN reporters say that it was only until the 3rd day after the storm people were airlifted in New Orleans.

Throughout the exit interview session, the president argued that he had done the best he could do under the present trying circumstances and amid period of wars, a natural disaster and the biggest economic calamity since the Great Depression and that history will be the final judge. “I don’t think you can possibly get the full breadth of an administration until time has passed,” said the president.

At another question, Bush mocked at the suggestion that the burdens of office are too great. “It’s kind of like, why me? Oh, the burdens, you know. Why did the financial collapse have to happen on my watch? It’s just—it’s pathetic, isn’t it, self-pity?” Bush said.

Bush also advised President-elect Barack Obama to expect criticism and be prepared that some of his “biggest disappointments will come from your so-called friends”.

In an answer to the question about his plans after leaving the white house Bush said “I’m a Type A personality,” Bush said. “I just can’t envision myself, you know, the big straw hat and Hawaiian shirt sitting on some beach.”

In the interview with CNN, host Lary King, King asked “ Are we ever, ever going to find (Osama) bin Laden?” Bush replied “ Yes, of course. Absolutely. We have a lot of people looking for him, a lot of assets out there. He can't run forever. Just like the people who allegedly were involved in the East African bombings, a couple of them were brought to justice recently.”

With eight years gone under the Bush administration Americans are still asking a question, are we better now or were we better off eight years ago? With a few days left for Obama to take charge all hopes and eyes are on Obama to lead the country at the right path.

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Bush's tortured legacy

ALL last week on President-elect Obama's transition website, Change.gov, the top-rated publicly-submitted question asked the incoming president whether he would appoint a special prosecutor to investigate "the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping." When ABC News's George Stephanopoulos pressed Obama about it on "This Week," Obama said he was "still evaluating" the situation but added, "My orientation is going to be moving forward."

Obama's caution notwithstanding, there are serious questions about the Bush administration's torture policies that only a bipartisan, in-depth investigation can answer. Late last week, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced a bill that would establish a blue-ribbon commission to investigate Bush's abuse of executive war powers and civil liberties. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said yesterday that if Obama refuses to investigate Bush's possible crimes, he'll do it himself. "I appreciate that President Obama doesn't want to make it his purpose as a new president, with America in real distress in many directions, to go back and look at all this, but I think we in Congress have an independent responsibility, and I fully intend to discharge that responsibility," Whitehouse said.

According to analysis made American Progress, Washington based think-tank. in a series of exit interviews, both President Bush and Vice President Cheney have stridently defended the use of torture. "I feel very good about what we did. I think it was the right thing to do," Cheney said last month, referring to the administration's interrogation and detention policies. He added that he would "do exactly the same thing again." Most audaciously, Cheney claimed "it would have been unethical or immoral for us not to" torture detainees. Last Sunday, Bush admitted that he personally authorized the waterboarding of 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. "I'm in the Oval Office and I am told that we have captured Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the professionals believe he has information necessary to secure the country. So I ask what tools are available for us to find information from him and they gave me a list of tools," Bush told Fox News' Brit Hume. He added that they "got legal opinions before any decision was made." Bush insisted that torturing Mohammed produced "good information" that "helped save lives on American soil." But a Pentagon intelligence analyst said Mohammed "produced no actionable intelligence." Last night, when CNN's Larry King asked Bush whether anything he had done "in the area of treatment of prisoners" had given him "any kind of pause," Bush replied, "No. No."

The American Progress further stated,”as Bush and Cheney dig in their heels, the right wing has helped cement Bush's legacy of torture by joining in stridently defending it. Last month, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) insisted that torture "saved American lives." MSNBC host Joe Scarborough waged a six-minute screed in defense of torture this week, mocking a critic who said torture doesn't yield reliable information as "the silliest thing [he has] ever heard." With this week's debut of a new season of the Fox TV drama "24," conservatives have new fodder with which to fan the flames of their love of torture. As The Progress Report documented, conservatives cited the show as proof that torture is effective and hailed the main character, torture extraordinaire Jack Bauer, as a national hero. "They're trying to put Jack Bauer in jail! I'm not going to stand for it!" shouted Bill O'Reilly. "You ask the average person, is it okay to do something, rough somebody up, to save lives. You ask the person on the street, they say, 'yeah, why not?'" insisted Fox's Steve Doocy. "Here's the guy who has done everything possible to keep his country safe...and these people want to throw him in jail forever for torture and so forth," moaned Rush Limbaugh.”

A major part of Bush's legacy will be his authorization of crimes (remember, the U.S. has prosecuted waterboarding as a war crime in the past) that have both damaged the United States' moral standing in the world as well as endangered Americans. Today, Susan Crawford, "the top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial," confirmed that the U.S. military tortured 9/11 planner Mohammed al-Qahtani. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture," Crawford said. "And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution. "And unfortunately what this has done, I think, has tainted everything going forward," Crawford said. Torture has therefore prevented the successful prosecution of terrorists. It has endangered American lives directly as well: A former FBI agent told the Senate last year that "a new generation of jihadist martyrs, motivated in part by the images from Abu Ghraib, is, as we speak, planning to kill Americans," while former Navy general counsel Alberto Mora said last year that "the first and second identifiable causes of U.S. combat deaths in Iraq -- as judged by their effectiveness in recruiting insurgent fighters into combat -- are, respectively the symbols of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo." A former CIA interrogator agreed: "The number of U.S. soldiers who have died because of our torture policy will never be definitively known, but it is fair to say that it is close to the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001." Not all Obama officials are willing to sweep Bush's torture legacy under the rug. Dawn Johnsen, Obama's pick to head the Office of Legal Counsel, has repeatedly expressed her "outrage" at Bush's use of torture. "We must avoid any temptation simply to move on," Johnsen wrote. "We must instead be honest with ourselves and the world as we condemn our nation's past transgressions and reject Bush's corruption of our American ideals.

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Terrorism and recession: America and Russia need to cooperate

Harjap Singh Aujla writes from New Jersey

GONE are the days when the Russian economy collapsed to pave the way for the collapse of the mighty Soviet Union. Now the smaller former Soviet Republics are independent and Russia does not have to lift their economic burden on its broad shoulders. Stung by a recession soon after the break up of the Soviet Union, the Russians have become hardened and wiser. Instead of experimenting with hard capitalism, they now have a mixed economy, which is doing surprisingly great. The oil boom of 2007 and 2008 also helped strengthen the Russian economy.

According to the latest economic data, America has been in recession since December of 2007. That was the time when the Russian economy was at its best. Worldwide oil prices were rising steeply. America being a bulk importer of oil was feeling the heat. China and India were also hurting, but America’s pain was rattling the smaller export oriented economies like Korea and Taiwan.

Most financial experts agree that America’s present financial downturn is the worst in over three decades. The current slump in oil prices in the international market is a nervous message from the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the supply and demand driven forces of market to America to boost its demand for the crude oil. But the American economy is not responding positively due to severity of its recession. It will take time to recover.

During the eight years of George W. Bush Presidency America pursued a policy of overt confrontation with Russia. America’s endeavor has been to extend the frontiers of NATO to encircle Russia by including in its fold the former communist nations of Eastern Europe and some of the former Soviet Republics. It was quite a natural reaction on the part of Russia to resist these moves. America had some deceptive success in its aims, but now the ball game has changed completely. America does not have the kind of financial clout it used to have until recently.

My suggestion is that during the coming Obama Administration, America should change its policies and embrace Russia rather than encircling it with a noose of hostile nations. The problem of nuclear ambitions of Iran and North Korea can be effectively tackled, if the Russians and the Americans cooperate with each other.

The problem of the Taliban and Al Qaeda induced insurgency in Afghanistan can also be successfully eliminated if the two super powers start honestly cooperating with each other. During the Ronald Reagan years, America should not have gone to the extent of making a monster out of the religious zealots of Afghanistan. Neither the Russians like the Taliban, nor the Americans like them, but the estrangement between these two giants is emboldening the Taliban. The Chechen problem in Russia has been exacerbated by the nefarious elements like Al Qaeda and Taliban. If there is a healthy cooperation between America and Russia, America’s dependence on Pakistan can be curtailed significantly. Now America’s economy demands cooperation between these two super powers.

What the terror struck World needs the most at this time is cooperation between all the bigeconomies of the World. If the Americans and the Russians decide to stabilize the price of crude oil, they can do it by adopting a policy of give and take by sitting across the table. America will have to soften its brand of capitalism too.

For example India has kept the prices of staple food items stable because of the central government’s policy of state purchase of wheat and rice. If this vital trade would have been left in the hands of private sector, the farmers would have got less remunerative prices after harvesting and during the later months the prices would have jumped sky high. America will also have to experiment with similar fiscal policies. India’s nationwide railway system is in public sector and we have the cheapest economy class fares in the World, which is the best for the middle class and the poor. Such a measure, if tried, can save a lot of oil in America too.

Right now Pakistan is in a unique position to blackmail both India and America. If India acts tough with Pakistan, it can threaten America about withdrawing its soldiers from the border with Afghanistan, where they are engaged in a grim struggle against the Taliban. This prompts America to start calming India down. In such a situation the only gainers are the Taliban and the Pakistan Army. The problem with America is that America is at loggers heads with Iran, who’s ports America can use for supplying its and NATO troops in Afghanistan. Afghanistan is a land locked state with no connection to the sea. Pakistan knows that all the financial and material aid that India wants to give to Afghanistan must pass through Pakistan. Even America’s supply routes pass through Pakistan. This unique strategic advantage emboldens Pakistan to dictate terms to both India and America. If America abandon’s its policy of tightening a snake hold around the neck of Russia, the Russians and former members of the erstwhile Soviet Union can be persuaded to cooperate with America and NATO. This will send right signals to all the rogue nations and terror outfits of the World to start behaving responsibly. America’s and NATO’s supply route to Afghanistan through the former republics of the Soviet Union will send a message to the Chechen terrorists also to start behaving. By doing so, we can make the World a lot safer than before. This will send a tough signal to the ISI and the Pakistan Army that the days of their blackmailing clout are over. India will benefit a lot from the strategic cooperation between America and Russia. In fact India should act as a go between these two super powers of the World.

President Barrack Obama will have to reinvent the wheel as far as America’s relations with Russia are concerned. An increased cooperation between Russia and America can certainly lead to theworld coming out of economic recession.

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