The War on Terror:
On Tuesday September 11, 2001 our country was viciously
attacked. Over 2,000 innocent people died in those attacks. In the weeks
following this tragedy President Bush declared a “War on Terrorism”. Let’s
take a look at what that has meant.
We invaded Afghanistan in an effort to hunt down Osama bin Laden “dead
or alive”, to crush the Al-Qaeda terrorist network and the Taliban government
that supported it. We’ve not found Osama Bin Laden, Al-Qaeda is relatively
unharmed despite the few captured “ring leaders” that make headline news,
and the Taliban is back in power. Afghanistan has resumed it’s former
position as the worlds number one heroin exporter --- oh, and we taxpayers
have ponied up $28 billion! Bush and Cheney’s business friends Unocal
finally got the oil pipeline deal that was so troublesome
to secure before “the war on terror”. Our troops are now
guarding the precious pipeline. Unocal has Bush’s
backing in a lawsuit filed by workers alleging complicity in slavery
murder and rape, as well.
The “war” with Iraq has been waged in the name of fighting terrorism.
The tricky thing about this is that not one of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers
was Iraqi! Iraq had no official ties with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network,
in fact the Bush family has closer ties to the Saudi born Osama Bin Laden
than Saddam Hussein ever did. The “weapons of mass destruction” that threatened
the U.S. have yet to manifest themselves, and the threats appear to have
been greatly exaggerated. Despite all of the rhetoric for this invasion,
post 9/11, this administration has been hell bent on invading Iraq since
Clinton was still in office. Saddam Hussein, like Osama Bin Laden, has
thus far eluded our best efforts. The monetary cost of this war is over
$20 Billion in taxpayers dollars thus far, and is running approximately
$2 Billion
more each month. The cost in lives is not so easily quantified. Over
200 young american soldiers have lost their lives in this “quagmire”,
hundreds more have suffered serious and debilitating injuries, and thousands
of Iraqi civilians have thus far been “liberated” from this world. Dick
Cheney’s Halliburton, however is not suffering along with those families
or with the american taxpayers - in fact they’re laughing all the way
to the bank - with $600 Million and
no spending limit!
So, how is the “War on Terror” progressing here at home?
Not as well...
”The Best Defense is a Good Offense”
- not according to the former college cheerleader.....
The Department of Homeland Security, established shortly after 9/11 and
headed by former PA governor Thomas Ridge has seemingly done little more
for the American public than advising us to buy duct tape and plastic,
and given us a useless color coded “terror alert” chart. Currently the
Homeland Security Department spends $5.4 billion per year on first responders.
A study by the Council on Foreign Relations recommended $25
Billion as the amount needed to do the job. Jeane J. Kirkpatrick Senior
Fellow in National Security Studies and Director, Council on Foreign Relations
Independent Task Force on Homeland Security Imperatives has this to say
in March of 2003, “ It will also require a substantially larger investment
in federal resources than have been made available to date. At the end
of the day, container security is about constructing the means to sustain
global trade in the context of the new post-9-11 security environment.
We cannot afford to be penny-wise and pound foolish in advancing this
vital agenda.” concerning the fragile
state of container security. Our airport
security remains “porous”, and the passage of HR 2555, while looking
like a jolly good thing by the headlines “House
OKs homeland security funds” the truth is the funds were only increased
1.9% above this years already woeful under funding, and includes $19.5
million “add on” for bridge alterations that have nothing to do with Homeland
Security. Let’s hope the limited funds are used more wisely than they
were in the Texas
Legislators/Tom Delay fiasco!
Rand Beers, who served two tours in Vietnam with the Marine Corps, over
30 years with the State Department, working in international narcotics
and law enforcement affairs, intelligence, and counter-terrorism, and
finally as a special assistant to the president on the National Security
Council left his job in disgust, "charged the administration "wasn't
matching its deeds to its words in the war on terrorism. They're
making us less secure, not more secure. … The longer I sat and
watched, the more concerned I became, until I got up and walked out."
Read more about Mr. Beers and his commitment to get Bush out of our white
house in this NightLine
interview with Ted Koppel.
Last, but certainly not least - please take a moment to reflect on the
plight of the actual victims of 9/11... The victims families have fought
for an investigation into 9/11 for nearly two years. The official bi-partisan
investigation only began in March of this year, and has been under funded
and blocked
by the white house at every turn. When we invoke 9/11 as justification
to curtail our constitutional rights via The Patriot Act and to wage two
wars on foreign soil, the very least that we, as a nation, could do is
to make sure that the families who lost their loved ones on that fateful
day have the respect, the answers, and the closure that they deserve.
The late forming commission was originally funded with just $3 million
dollars (it fought for and won an additional $9) which may sound like
a lot of money - but lets compare it with other recent inquiry budgets:
The Space Shuttle Columbia, was set up within 90 minutes of the crash,
and with a $40 million dollar budget. The Whitewater/Bill’s penis investigation
deserved an $80 million dollar budget???! Mindy Kleinberg lost her husband
in the WTC, she has questions, very
good questions. When will they be answered?
More,
More,
and More... |
