Mr. Bush's reaction to the tsunamis in the Indian Ocean has turned out to be quite an indicator for his true motives in the "War on Terror". The devastation in the Asian countries has the very real potential of spawning new generations of terrorists: some unhappy with the wealthy west's slow and inadequate reaction, others by simple osmosis -- terror cells, already active in that region, recruiting youth from the shambles of their former homes.
Are George W. Bush and the neocons interested in stopping terrorists before they're created, or would they rather act with force only after terrorists are trained and indoctrinated? It's the classic conflict between "peace and compassion now" or "war and death later". And we're all familiar with Bush's significantly greater aptitude for "bring 'em on" sound-bytes, and his ineptitude for compassionate empathy (whenever he attempts it, it's usually riddled with gaffes -- ie. "putting food on their families").
But are they truly brazen enough to enter the Indian Ocean crisis with one hand tied behind their collective back; while potential new generations of terrorists wait beneath the stacks of bodies? We only need to watch our government's reaction in the coming months to discover the answer.
Mr. Bush, meanwhile, is still on vacation. We've read this script before and it didn't end with "happily ever after".