Ask not what you can do for your country

"Many government and private terrorism experts say the financial crisis has given al-Qaeda an opening, and judging from public statements and intercepted communications, senior al-Qaeda leaders are elated by the West's economic troubles, which they regard as a vindication of their efforts and a sign of the superpower's weakness."

Losing our place as Numero Uno in the real world means we're more vulnerable to attack from all those people who hate us and who are taking the world away from us.  Can you hear our teeth gnashing?

"U.S. government officials and private analysts say the economic turmoil has heightened the short-term risk of a terrorist attack, as radical groups probe for weakening border protections and new gaps in defenses. A protracted financial crisis could threaten the survival of friendly regimes from Pakistan to the Middle East while forcing Western nations to cut spending on defense, intelligence and foreign aid, the sources said.

"The crisis could also accelerate the shift to a more Asia-centric globe, as rising powers such as China gain more leverage over international financial institutions and greater influence in world capitals."

Once again, the nasty truth.  We have a defense industry, nurtured by a corrupt Defense Department  which is more about making war -- and making war enormously profitable -- than about making sure we have good enough defenses to take us through hard times.  Once again, the glaring absence of planning in "central right" America weakens us. 

The threat lies not with random Muslim fanatics but with a decades of political leadership which has encouraged our "defenders" to get profitably obese and unwieldy rather than lean, mean, and healthy.  We've learned during the eight years of the Bush administration is that there's no Plan A, much less a Plan B.  Why plan? If our military can't do it, call in Blackwater, a political ally.

The relationship between political administration and actual governance has been entirely about predatory greed.  Here we go again.

Comments

[JayDenver]

--caution rant next 5 miles--

The Republican party has boasted for years about their ability to win elections based on the national security issues.

The questionably improved conditions in Iraq should have helped them, but the deteriorating economy pushed Iraq out of the spotlight.

Now we find that a strong economy and strong national security go hand-in-hand. Gee, what a novel concept.

Back in 2006, Bush said "that Democrats have consistently predicted that his record tax cuts would ruin the economy and drive up the deficit. They have not." Fast forward to 2008. Uh, Mr. President, care to rethink this?

Bush also said he had a "plan for victory" in Iraq. He opposed timelines. It turns out Bush's plan for victory was simply to react to the enemy's changes in tactics and strategy. And now we have almost assuredly a deadline to get out of Iraq while Afghanistan teeters in the balance.

I'm still trying to figure out what big issues the Republicans have left. Abortion, gay bashing, stem-cell harvesting, union card check, gun control? Sure you can get some voters to back you on single issue tactics, but overall this is not a winning formula. Hell, even I own a gun and my father was a lifelong NRA member.

Grover Norquist famously wanted to shrink government down to a size where it could be drowned in a bathtub. Well, Katrina showed Norquist how that really works. No government, everybody drowns. No bailout there, literally.

Prosperity has just walked around the corner right into the arms of a gang of terrorists. Good going GOP. Maybe now we all can contract out to be drowned in a tub of Blackwater.

--end of rant--

[Stephanie]

Has anyone wondered does God really care about the human family and if so "Why hasn't he intervened?" to correct things.

[PW]

God who?

[Byrne]

Its OK, now that Obama is president. He'll fix everything those nasty Republicans did.

NOT!

Actually, we are genuinely screwed! Any moron who tries to blame 1960's atrocities, on the GOP or the present economic collapse on Bush just lost all credibility. Such a rewrite of history or its acceptance reveals much about the direction we are heading.

[PW]

I think Clinton was the ham in the whitebread sandwich of Republicans and not without blame. This is definitely not all a Republican problem, but anyone who watched the Reagan and Bush 2 years can see why one is justified in saying that both of those Republican presidents (and their appointees) were shameless in their exploitation of government -- materially and ideologically. Yes, we are screwed. Anyone who's a Republican these days has a lot to answer for. It's a helluva mess Bush is handing over to Obama, but Obama has guts and a good team.