Fade out on George W Bush

By Pepe Escobar

WASHINGTON - And now, the end is near; the final curtain drops in a cold, paranoid Fortress DC under maximum red alert. In a contrived Oscar night-style mood, with thanks aplenty, George W Bush delivered his farewell address from the East Room of the White House on January 15.

Bottom lines: he turned Afghanistan into "a young democracy fighting terror"; he turned Iraq into "a young democracy in the heart of the Middle East"; he brags "America is promoting human rights"; and more than anything, America under his watch got seven years without another 9/11. But "the terrorists" will be back.