The Balkan Yankee

I laughed out loud when I read this article today, where Bush says Bulgaria is directly threatened by Iran, referring to a supposed nuclear weapons and ballistic missile program. I don’t usually have that reaction to what comes out of politician’s, or especially Bush’s mouth. Usually its a mix of frustration, or disgust giving way to apathy and detachment since there is a definite level of abstraction and irrelevance when you’re living abroad.

This is just comical though. I mean, I think the last thing on anyone’s mind in Bulgaria is the looming fear of an Iranian attack. First of all, the Bulgarians have too many real and tangible problems to deal with domestically to get caught up in our President’s fanatical fear-mongering from half way around the world. I mean, given the media saturation of anti-Iranian propaganda on the other side of the pond, maybe this actually sounds like a realistic concern for Eastern Europeans but the reality is: Yes, The USA is in the process of building military facilities in Bulgaria which could pose as a potential target for enemies of US interests, just as the US has done and continues to do across all of Europe, the Middle East, and the World. Bulgaria has also been eager to have a part of Bush’s European Missile Defense System but the driving force behind that is the Billions in capital investment it would bring into the country.

At the same time, Bulgaria and Iran are also strengthening, not diminishing their trade relationship and both countries governments have taken similar positions and at times pledged to work together on political issues regarding Iraq and Afghanistan.

The only other interesting observation in this is that if Bush is indeed trying to “ratchet up” the rhetoric for an invasion of Iran, and in fact goes through with it as some fear; What will happen to their main justification for a missile defense system in Eastern Europe? In that scenario, the perceived threat to Russia would increase exponentially.

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