Much criticism and praise has been thrown about relating to our president since the Sept. 11 attacks that shook America to its very core. The troubling trend in the media to glorify the president has finally begun to dissipate, correlating with the U.S. Congress' growing unease with George W. Bush.
Earlier this year when Bush declared Iraq, Iran and North Korea an "axis of evil" a hushed chill went up the collective spine of both politicians and journalists. Had Bush overstepped his bounds in this new "war on terrorism" simply to expand U.S. interest? Questions such as these began to worm their way through the media and Capitol Hill.
Now, with his first visit to Germany Bush has made yet another absolute declaration that should send shivers of tension up the spines of all Americans, as surely as it has the Europeans'. Last week in Berlin our president likened all terrorists to Nazis.
While the speech sent European media into a flurry of mixed positive and negative reactions, the question that had finally begun creeping into many American minds has been pushed closer to the surface: How far will Bush and his administration go to pursue their interests?
Although the country has suffered a horrendous tragedy at the hands of terrorists, theirs is an extremely secret network operating from within several different countries, including the United States. Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party were legally elected into office, set up a national government, attempted military European domination and were the perpetrators of the largest genocide campaign in history.
To make the comparison in the very country where the horror originated was a deliberate and direct message for Europe to deny its own more peaceful methods against terrorism, for fear that the country's leaders will choose appeasement over direct action, and join Bush unconditionally or else.
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Does the president have the right to send such a message to an entire continent that has pledged its support to the fight against terrorism, if not use of his exact methods? That may well simply be a judgment call for many.
But despite Bush's 80 percent American approval rating, some of us are becoming more disturbed each day at his condemning "my way or the highway" messages. It could finally be time for him to pack up his ultimatums and try a new approach.
Angela Williams
Editor in chief
