Today is the last day of the United States President George W. Bush in office. Thank God!

The “Time” magazine termed Bush’s last press conference as “full of disappointment.” In fact, the President himself used the word “disappointment” at least a dozen times in the press conference providing the American people something that could describe his two terms as the president of the United States of America spanning eight years in one word.

One finds it difficult to reconcile to the fact that he got a second term after messing up his first term. Most of the US citizens I met before Bush’s re-election for his second term told me that his first term was a disaster. They were particularly critical of his Iraqi misadventure. Many observers were dismayed, nay, shocked when they saw the results of the election.

The entire world knew that Osama Bin Laden was behind the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre with the sole idea of crippling the US economy and spreading terror. Osama was believed to be hiding either in Afghanistan or Pakistan.

For some strange reason, Bush chose to go after Saddam Hussain and Iraq who were not even vaguely related to the 9/11 attacks. The world is still looking for the weapons of mass destruction on whose pretext the war on Iraq was declared by Bush. On the other hand, a fugitive such as Osama Bin Laden has eluded the most powerful man on earth and the most powerful nation on earth for over seven years. And, Bush is responsible for that. How does that reflect on a nation that was held in awe?

Bush’s “war on terror” took the US Army to other countries but it took the USA nowhere. Today, it is not the United States of America or the world but the US military personnel deployed in Iraq who are asking themselves as to what they are doing there. Bush’s policies have entrenched the US Army in Iraq in such a way that it is now desperately looking for an escape route for an honourable exit.

True, the US intervention helped force the Russians out of Afghanistan. Was that done to liberate Afghanistan or to ensure US military presence there?

When 9/11 happened, the USA had an option of teaming up with India to fight those who were responsible for it. India is not only the largest democracy in the world but also one of the greatest victims of terrorist violence. But, Bush chose to team up with the military dictatorship in Pakistan knowing fully well that Pakistan is the terror capital of the world and most of the terrorist activities in the world emanated from Pakistan.

What is it that made the US turn to Pakistan if it was not Bush’s strategy of winning an ally within striking distance of Afghanistan and Iran? Bush administration also closed its eyes to the fact that billions of dollars given to Pakistan to fight terror was diverted to spread terrorism in India and to finance an army build up along the Indian border.

Bush administration’s skewed policies have cast a long shadow on the US economy. The economic meltdown is seen as a corollary of that. Currently, the USA is believed to spend about a billion dollars a day to maintain its military bases across the globe. That burns a big hole in the US budget. Bush inherited a huge positive balance of payment when he took over eight years ago but he leaves the nation is the lurch with huge financial mess.

On the home front, Bush’s response to the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina left a lot to be desired.

Today is the last day of President in Bush. Thank God! The United States of America has reposed its faith in the President-elect Barack Obama. Barack Obama steps in with a lot of hope. The world hopes that Barak reverses the economic crises and restores the world order and ushers in a better tomorrow.