America's financial 9/11

Secondly, one of the reasons of this crisis resides in the unconscionable cost of America's foreign involvement. US can ill-afford to fork out two billion a month for the Iraq war. Much of Iraq war's debt has been financed by foreign investors that can't continue much longer.

Thirdly, it is the incapability of the Bush administration which has led the situation go downhill to this point. This financial crisis will be the last nail in the coffin of Mr Bush.

In order to give a leg-up to the economy, the US administration scrambled and buzzed around in a bid to have an unprecedented $700 billion bailout plan. If we have an analysis of the plan, this is fatally flawed. Firstly this plan gives untrammelled powers with no supervision to the Treasury Secretary. Secondly US government's $700 billion bailout plan will be an excessive burden on taxpayers. Thirdly, the US economy cannot afford extra-debt. Fourthly, this plan will not be sufficient enough to the rescue of sinking economy. Fifthly, this plan marks a stark shift from the support of deregulation and smaller government that has guided economic policy over the last few decades in the US.

This bailout plan has brought to light US double standards in financial respects also. The US upbraided Asian economies for making a fist of bailing out cash-stepped companies during the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and asked them to let inefficient companies and corporations bleed to death. But now it is throwing a lifetime to its companies ravaged by a credit crisis.

The writer is a foreign affairs analyst