I'm departing for a while, but I've got a couple of interesting things to post first:
Mondo Washington
by James Ridgeway
November 20 - 26, 2002
Al Qaeda Hits America in the Wallet
Blue Chips Sink Big Ships
Osama bin Laden has made no secret of his aim to drain the American economy, crowing over the trillions lost after 9-11. As a military plan, it makes sense.
"Al Qaeda cannot destroy the aircraft carriers that project U.S. airpower across the world, but jihadis can destroy the money that builds them and keeps them afloat," wrote Charles Heyman, editor of Jane's World Armies, last week. "The U.S. military requires US$378 billion during 2003 and over US$400 billion in 2005. The strategy therefore must be to concentrate on the destruction of value in the major economic indicators and make it more and more difficult for the U.S. to fund defense at this level."
In response, the United States, almost reflexively, is willy-nilly turning itself into Fortress America—with the FBI one day issuing a warning about upcoming massive attacks and the White House pooh-poohing it the next. Trying for this effect or not, the government's policies keep the public in a constant state of jitters, and become a self-propelled rationale for strengthening the fortress. Each week the Bush administration goes further and further down this path, essentially taking Al Qaeda's bait. Last week, the steps toward dismantling democracy came in the form of proposals to construct a British-style MI5 organization, meshing under one roof intelligence agencies that spy on Americans with those tracking foreign nationals.
The more Bush seeks to defend the nation, the more scandalous his plan becomes. Consider the new homeland security legislation, which contains a payoff for drug companies peddling the smallpox vaccine. The new bill protects vaccine manufacturers, as well as professionals and volunteers who administer the doses, against suits from people who become ill or die after taking the shot.
Further, the plan cuts off citizens' ability to keep tabs on the government, by making it illegal for employees of the new department to disclose "critical infrastructure information" from private companies. These workers could be fined, dismissed, or imprisoned for up to a year. A provision like that would spell the end of whistle-blowing.
If Al Qaeda is out to sabotage the U.S. economy, it's meeting with some success. Already one key cog in the transport system, the airline industry, is crippled and cannot recover without large infusions of government cash. Talk of war is one factor keeping the stock markets depressed, lowering the general standard of living and sucking the value from 401(k) retirement accounts. Meanwhile unemployment continues to rise and consumer confidence to fall—just what bin Laden wants. |
