Sueddeutsche: Bush Resorts to Unilateralism to Save Flipper

(By Ray D.)

The announcement by the White House that it was creating a massive natural reserve in Hawaii seemed like just the sort of news that might play positively in the German media.

No dice.

The kings of cynicism at Sueddeutsche Zeitung managed to spin a story about saving Flipper the dolphin into a diatribe against Guantanamo Bay. The article in question, "George W. Bush, Discoverer of the Oceans," blames Bush for reaching the decision to protect the ocean without consulting others. How rude! How insensitive! He didn't ask Congress or the European "friends" whether it was ok to save the whales! The opening passages and accompanying photo say it all:

"Acting alone, President Bush made the small Hawaiian islands into the world's largest protected area. But why? Did he want to do his wife a favor?

The decision came overnight, and surprised even those environmental groups friendly to the government: The President, who terminated (US participation in) the Kyoto Protocol, who wants to open the last pristine wilderness in Alaska to oil drilling platforms, has with one stroke of the pen and with one signature, with practically no prior notice, created the largest oceanic preserve in the world.

Caption: Bush doesn't swim with the group like these Hawaiian fish; He reaches decisions unilaterally." 

Of course! Bush wanted to please the First Lady. After all, he can't have genuinely wanted to do something good for the environment. Never mind that Kyoto was torpedoed by the US Senate 95-0 long before Bush ever came to office. Never mind that the area in Alaska on which the Bush administration wants to drill comprises only 2,000 coastal acres in a natural preserve stretching over 19 million acres. Never mind that the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not the only "pristine" land remaining in Alaska as author Reymer Kluever erroneously claims. No. Bush is bad baby. He hates the environment and makes decisions all by himself...and that is exactly how we got Gitmo...

Flipper to Bush: "Let the terrorists go!"

It is roughly in this manner that we arrive at the article's final section. Naturally, it is about the evils of Guantanamo, perfectly designed to please the Bush-hating groundlings who read SZ. According to Reymer Kluever, Bush set up Guantanamo and arbitrarily decided to strip the inmates of the Geneva Conventions, just as he arbitrarily decided to protect the oceans. Mr. Kluever conveniently forgets that the Geneva Conventions were created to protect members of national armies, not stateless terrorists. He also ignores the fact that former President Clinton also issued an Executive Order (two days before leaving office) for the same region affected by the most recent Bush decree.

But what do details matter? Bush is always wrong. Why won't Americans just listen to the honest, heartfelt, constructive criticism coming from their cousins on the German left? Forget about protecting Flipper American friends...it's time to let the terrorists innocent vegetable gardeners at Camp Gitmo go.

(Hatttip: Stefan K.)

Comments

[Stefan Krieger]

Also, this Bush unilateralism was first practised by Clinton back in December 2000, when Clinton issued an executive order doing the same thing as Bush has done now. Clinton's executive order was suspended by Bush on coming into office. Indeed, you could argue that Clinton's executive order is much more problematic, since it was issues AFTER Clinton lost the election, while Bush not yet a lame duck (thought this executive order does suggest he's at least heading this direction).

For Clinton's Exective Order see
http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/PDFs/EO13196.pdf

For lots of documents related to the designation process, see
http://hawaiireef.noaa.gov/documents/welcome.html

For a law review article describing the process (including Bush's 2001 suspension of Clinton's executive order), see
http://www.icriforum.org/docs/coral_reef_laws.pdf

[Pat Patterson]

My understanding was that Mr. Bush was talked out of an addendum that would require all native Hawaiians to wear lava-lavas, leis and really cheap flip flops. An idea to reinstate human sacrafice was talked about but the President decided that finding a virgin in Oahu wasn't worth the effort. Saving kelp, coral and turtles seemed much easier. The President did have a seance with Jacques Cousteau, so there.

[Scott_H]

I can't really understand the article, so I'm scratching my head trying to figure out why a German newspaper would care about what is happening with a US state. They certainly have no business worrying about it...or do they? Other than another opportunity to take a cheap shot and attack Bush for something...anything...is there any other reason why they would have a beef with what the US does in Hawaii -- especially when it seems to be a good thing?

[Toe-pi]

Another pretty good example of the so-called Bush Derangement Syndrome. No matter what George W. Bush is trying to accomplish, it is a priori flat-out wrong and doomed to failure. Why? Because that's what helps sell German newspapers. And Die Welt, which often offers an alternative viewpoint, is most certainly controlled by the Jews. Ouch.

[PlutosDad]

That has got to be the most ridiculous article I've ever read. Did they even consider that only a few days ago, Japan overturned a quarter century of protection for whales by bribing countries to join the International Whaling Commission and vote their way? African countries voting on whaling? hello? Did the greenies even talk about that? (I know some did over here).

No, it couldn't be a response to that, which is why it had to be swift and authoritative, as a message to Japan. That would ... make sense.

[Cousin Dave]

How dare us not consult Europe on a matter involving soverign U.S. territory in the middle of the Pacific Ocean! Next thing you know, we'll build a new park in Topeka, Kansas without consulting the Europeans! How unilateral can we get?

[Foobarista]

More classic coverage of Bushitler: heads, I win; tails, you lose. He could declare that all powerplants in the US will be replaced by windfarms and that all cars in the US will be replaced by tricycles, and the coverage would be about how Bush's unilateral action was straining the world supply of windmill blades and tricycle tires.

[storm72]

I'm no supporter of Bush, but even this sort of stupidity is telling with regard to the state of the German psyche. German society is clearly the most angst-ridden, miserable society on the planet. America may have it's share of the "blame someone else" mentality, but clearly German society engages in this behavior in spades as a distraction from confronting its own history of crimes against humanity and its current problems. What an utterly miserable country!

[Yeshooroon]

I know there's a lot of good Germans. My Uncle's family immigrated here from Germany. And Merkel was voted into office which is a welcome change to Shroeder's Russian Mafioso Gazprom Exit.

But how can anyone write a serious article like this. Are they taking cues from Pravda? Are East Germans a large audience to this kind of spiel? Where does the left/right breakdown in Germany?

This is just sad and weird. We have our nutbrains in America too though. Like someone pointed out, Bush could declare he solved the oil problem with unlimited free energy and someone would then whine, complain and blame him for the loss of jobs in the oil industry.