There is something that periodically emerges in politics that I call the “maniac factor.”  It is the phenomenon where a government (or set of leaders) demonstrates that it is out of touch with reality even from the standpoint of their own interests.  Such maniacal views and practices might be driven by dogmatic ideology taken to its logical conclusion, or perhaps be driven by an organic difficulty in the brains of said leaders.  In either case, the actions proposed or carried out can not only be cruel and morally reprehensible; they can be suicidal.  The USA threatening war with Iran with the potential consequences for the world’s economy (not to mention the Iranian people), is one such example.

This past week we were ‘treated’ to another example of the maniac factor.  In addition to threatening war with Iran, the Bush administration offered outrageous, reckless and equally arrogant intimidating remarks directed against the sovereign nation of Cuba.  Sometimes I think that President Bush believes himself to be in a 1950s motion picture ‘Western’ riding into town and telling his opponents to leave before sundown.  Essentially this is what he said to the Cuban government warning them that, upon the eventual passing away of President Castro, they cannot carry out a governmental transition unless it conforms to the standards and specifications established by—you guessed it—the Bush administration.

Can’t you just picture him?  In his dreams President Bush is sitting on top of a horse with a big cowboy hat on his head pointing a six-shooter at Cuban President Fidel Castro and his brother Raul, warning them to move on.

I wish that this was a bad film so that I could sit in the audience and throw rotten eggs at the screen and yell insulting comments, but this situation is all too real.  It is not clear whether Bush, due to his historically low poll ratings, is simply making noise or whether he is planning some sort of covert or overt military operation against Cuba.  In either case, the Bush clique further demonstrates its contempt for international law through its racist insistence that the ‘big brother’ in North America has the right to dictate terms to the rest of the hemisphere.  The notorious Monroe Doctrine appears to be alive and well in the 21st century.

In this context it becomes very clear why countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, and quite possibly others, have raised the issue of Latin American unity.  Not only do they feel compelled to assert an alternative economic policy to that advocated by the USA—which has devastated Latin America—but quite rightly they are deeply concerned about US belligerence.

So, we in the USA are now looking at the following scenario:  US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, and slowly more in the Philippines; threats of war against Iran and Syria; and threats to the sovereignty of Cuba, Venezuela and Bolivia.  Without a scorecard it is becoming difficult to keep up.  No wonder there are alleged murmurings in the US military about refusing to fly combat missions against Iran should Bush order an attack.  From the standpoint of the US global empire, this escalating reliance on military threats and actions is coming to be seen as, at best, counterproductive.

Threats to Cuba are not new; not partisan; but are always ominous.  Even when such threats are opportunistic rhetorical devices by US politicians, they are very dangerous given that the USA has the power to wreak so much havoc.  It is for that reason that this recent round of threats must be taken very seriously and preemptive measures must be adopted to halt or restrain the impact of the maniac factor.  Most immediately that means regaining public attention to the threats to Cuban sovereignty.  Second, a much broader alliance of people and organizations must be constructed to speak out for normalized relations with Cuba.  This must be a demand for people of good will irrespective of their views of the social system in Cuba.

Each day we find ourselves wondering, who will the USA next attack?  While the Pentagon has declared, in the past, that the USA does not have an interest in being PERCEIVED as a rational country, the question we face today has little to do with perception; it is more a question of what is the reality.

BlackCommentator.com Editorial Board member, Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a labor and international writer and activist, and the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum. Click here to contact Mr. Fletcher.

Your comments are always welcome.