Well, it's going to be a rush tonight to get this posted before the clock flicks over to Saturday, so here goes...

Today, the USA came out fighting over its environmental record, which has of course been the subject of serious scrutiny since the Summit in Johannesburg began. Following on from earlier posts of mine, I'm going to take a look at what life must look like from the USA's point of view right now.

Certainly, if I was an American leader, environmental official, diplomat etc I would probably be feeling a little wounded and indignant. As the only remaining superpower, rather than go off on a domineering conquest of the globe (though some would argue they've done exactly that, albeit subtly and commercially), the USA has tried to broker world peace. Whenever they have sent a diplomatic peacekeeping mission (they rarely use force for these things, always the suits first) into a pretty dangerous situation, be it Africa, Israel, Asia or even on their own doorstep in South America, they find themselves harangued by sections of the media that consider it an unspeakable violation of all sorts of unwritten rules. To them. the United States is a behemoth of a nation that has become too big for its boots and seeks to impose its will on all forms of society across the globe. Hang on, what were you expecting them to do? The isolationist period ended with Pearl Harbour, and the USA is not going to sit back and quietly indulge itself in its riches whilst people elsewhere in the world are shooting each other for fun, then slowly but surely turning against the US. America is simply trying to put the world to rights as the only force (come on, the UN is going nowhere) able to do so.

But wait - is it possible that by setting off around the world, clutching a little white dove and riding on a wing and a prayer, that the USA has caused a sizeable amount of this conflict? Certainly, as I discussed yesterday, it would probably have far fewer enemies if its top officials could just keep their mouths shut. In an attempt to drag nations wrought with civil war and corruption into the 21st Century, the USA often makes the mistake of treating them as though they should damn well already be civilised shining examples. Thus, the name-calling and immediate mad rush for the moral high ground only serves to heighten the opposition of nations like North Korea and the Arab states, rather than making them realise they should know better. If America wound down the maternal scolding it issues to delinquent countries, then started issuing more aid and fewer threats, we might go places a little faster.

Iraq obviously feels the US is not going to learn any time soon, and that if they want a war of words as a prelude they are welcome to one. Iraqi vice-president Yassin Ramadan told reporters that the US has one crucial disadvantage that it avoided with Afghanistan - there is no Iraqi opposition movement. That could be a big blow if a full-scale war erupts. For now, Friday is a 3.6, but the US seems to be trying to push that up daily. Phew... I think I made it in time.