Bush appears likely to win

I visit America a few times every year and have seen many U.S. elections until now, but have never seen the American public so divided. When looking from the outside, we usually see the U.S. as one solid block. However, just like in Turkey, there are a few different Americas. The Iraq War has made the gap even greater.

A portion of the American public praises President George W. Bush and agrees with his war on terror. On the opposite side, another portion believes Bush is a very dangerous president.

The latest polls and the media’s attitude show that the president is a little ahead of his competitor and will win the elections. I believe this will be the most exciting elections we have seen for a while.

Bush is seen as a person who is very close to the people. His gaffes, misuse of English and his religious beliefs are gradually dominating the agenda.

John Kerry is a more distant personality. With the way he speaks and the way he explains his policies, he finds it hard to be accessible to the ordinary people.

There isn’t much difference between the two on their policies in Iraq and if Kerry is elected, the main policies of the U.S. will not change. Still, his election will send a very strong message to the world and this message will say that the Bush government had committed mistakes, had ignored its allies and the U.S. would behave more carefully in the future.

Washington has lost its international credibility by starting a war, claiming that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, and argued that he had to be toppled. People believed this argument but soon, it became apparent that their claims were false and that the Bush government had deceived the world. This initiated the crisis of trust and this is what the Democrats are emphasizing. They say, "If we are elected, the world will realize that a mistake was corrected and their trust in us will increase."

Whether the trust will increase is still questionable; however, it is certain that if Bush is re-elected, things won’t become easier. As soon as the Bush government is in power, it will find it hard to make other people believe what it is saying as people will be looking for ulterior motives for everything they say. Unfortunately, the greatest power on earth will not be trusted.

Bush thinks he is a messenger from God
Some of what President Bush says in his speeches is being analyzed in great detail. His relationship with God is at the top of the list.

Bush keeps emphasizing his religious convictions. He is just one step away from declaring that he is a messenger of God. He constantly says that the policies implemented by the White House are approved and supported by God.

Liberal writers, who say that the proportion of religious people has increased during Bush’s presidency, don’t try to hide the fact that they are frightened.

Some speeches during the presidential campaign are such that, if a Turkish politician said one hundredth of what was being said, they would be in serious trouble. Actually, such behavior has also started to make people uncomfortable here. Still, Bush doesn’t shrink from emphasizing his religious virtues in order to get a few more votes.

If this attitude continues after the elections, we might come face to face with very serious problems. Those who behead people and commit terrorism in the name of Islam may argue that their cause is just and make others believe them. Then we will be in very big trouble.

Soldiers that disobeyed orders creates panic
A group of soldiers that disobeyed orders in Iraq was enough to panic everyone here. When soldiers complained about not being provided with enough protection and about the state of their vehicles and refused to obey orders, this was perceived as an uprising. While the Pentagon said that this was an isolated incident, this matter still raised a lot of questions.

Things in Iraq are not OK. The American public is well aware of this fact, but there are no general calls for retreat yet. Everyone seems to have agreed on the fact that a retreat would mean defeat. However, no one can agree on what to do. The American public seems incapable of finding a solution, while being fully aware that it is gradually sinking more into the Iraqi quagmire. There is no way out yet. If the U.S. decides to withdraw and leave things to sort itself out, one of the principle victims will unfortunately be Turkey. That’s why the establishment of stability, before any sort of withdrawal is also important for us.