Dear Friends
Inasmuch as I sympathize for you a lot today, and I do, I am writing to you to let you know that it has been 11 years now. I think that grieving for the World Trade Center should be over, you should move on and start taking back your place in world leadership. You may think that by invading Iraq and Afghanistan you showed who is the boss, but you did not. Invading Afghanistan was good, but invading Iraq was not, on so many levels, including damaging any possible good you did in Afghanistan.
The heritage is clear. The current crisis can be in part tied to the ballooning deficit of the Iraq war, paid on credit card. While you were mired in Iraq, China and India became major economic challengers, challengers still, for sure, but challengers nevertheless. While you needed secure oil for Iraq you lost Venezuela and maybe your influence in all of Latin America where today you are seen as whinny drug consumers who try to push your problems on us. I am not talking of Chavez, I am talking of Brazil who used Chavez as one of its tool to extend its influence while you thought Chavez was the problem.
Europe made a point to counter your Iraq intervention by becoming even more of a welfare state. As such its deficits made them join the crisis and now none of you two can help the other get out of it.
While your boys and girls were busy in Iraq you did not solve immigration, you did not refurbish your tax system, you kept playing gay baiting and what not. Any excuse but talking of the USA real problems, at home and outside.
The Arab spring caught you pants down even though you were in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The world has changed a lot while you were watching your navel.
Now it is time to get out of your grief. You cannot transform 9/11 into another confederacy battle played all year around by southern boys with too much time on their hands. Celebrating defeats never led to ultimate victory, be it Kossovo, Gettysburg or WTC.
I have lived enough years among you to know that you are a great country, a great people, much greater than many of my friends around here are willing to accept. I do. I love and admire the USA even though I have no problem criticizing your flaws. You are the final point of Western civilization but you are also the starting point of its new phase. You are the ones that are transforming Western heritage, making its best points accepted by other civilizations.
It is not possible anymore to lead by strength. This died in the sands of Iraq. Now you can lead us by example. Get on it.