A forecast for the future

Let me run something by you that I've been thinking about for quite some time. Proposition: if America continues down the course that Bush has set for us I can well foresee America and Europe going to war with each other within my lifetime (I am 37). Question: Am I crazy? I made this proposition to various people this past weekend and not a one of them seriously disputed it. Indeed, I think I was giving voice to an unspoken fear that a lot of people have. The fear that America is no longer the good guy. The neo-cons like to think that the invasion of Iraq was a message to the rest of the world that said, "Do what America wants or you will be made to pay." I think the message that was received was more like, "We better figure out a way to survive without America if we are to stand in the way of its increasing belligerence." And this is not just the thoughts of people that were already unhappy with us. I strongly suspect that there are plans being launched, even as we speak, to reduce and/or eliminate the stranglehold that America holds on the world, both economically and militarily. I have already heard rumors of several European nations forming a Common Defense Force that would function like NATO but without the support of the US. The problem, of course, is that a Bush America will not go quietly into that dark night. Which is why I think my prediction of eventual war between Europe and America is not as crazy as it might sound.