The birthmark speaks

Former Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev had some harsh words to say about the "New World Order" that is little more than American hegemony.

"The Americans want so much to be the winners. The fact that they are sick with this illness, this winners' complex, is the main reason why everything in the world is so confused and so complicated," he said at a packed news conference.

Instead of ushering in an era of cooperation with the West, the USSR's collapse put the United States into an aggressive, empire-building mood, he said. Ultimately, that has led the United States to commit a string of "major strategic mistakes," he said.

"The idea of a new empire, of sole leadership, was born," Gorbachev said.

"Unilateral actions and wars followed," he added, saying that Washington "ignored the Security Council, international law and the will of their own people."

It's a good thing he doesn't know what he is talking about or we would be in big trouble.

At least we can all be secure in the knowledge that we have someone trustworthy, thoughtful and diplomatic at the helm of the American state.