22nd October:

This week, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 was signed into American law by President Bush. Most political commentators have been relatively quiet about this bill, with the notable exception of MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann who proclaimed the "Death of Habeas Corpus". I don’t live in the US and don’t pretend to understand the intimate workings of their political system. However, I fundamentally fail to see how Bush (forgive the lack of formality, but I don’t feel he is deserving of the respect that the title ‘President’ should command) can have any credibility in the eyes of the American people. From what I can gather, the man has turned the single largest budget surplus in US history into the single largest deficit. His domestic politics have been divisive and scandalous, in every sense of the world. He has lied about Iraq, lied about Afghanistan and drawn many other countries into these unpopular wars. Just how bad does it have to get before the American people realise what a mistake they have made?

At best, Bush is a buffoon, unworthy of the post he now holds. At worst he is a manipulative and deluded religious fundamentalist who seems intent on eroding the personal freedoms of his citizens and stoking their paranoia to further his own ends at every given opportunity. I have not stepped foot on American soil while he has been in power and do not intend to do so. I am not American, but am still embarrassed and ashamed that this man is held up as the voice of the free world. We should not allow history to judge him or his legacy kindly.