The Imminent Fall of the World's Last Superpower (continued)

As I continue this discussion, I think it is important to note that we are in a war with an intangible foe. A foe that has existed for centuries and that will persist for centuries to come. That foe is terrorism. And since terror is intangible, we will NEVER be able to "defeat" it. Even if we were to capture (or kill) terror's biggest icon, Osama Bin Laden, there will be many others just like him ready to take up his cause. He has become a sort of cult symbol for many oppressed Muslims and a hero to all Islamic Extremists. And as big a deal as he is, I've heard it (accurately) stated that Bin Laden is merely a mosquito over a pond.

One of the very few intelligent statements that I've heard President Bush make is that, with respect to terror, "We (the US) have to be right 100% of the time. They (terrorists) only have to be right once." This admission brings forth the reality that the terrorists are in the driver's seat. They have the advantage of focusing their money/efforts and picking the right time to attack. We, on the other hand, have to spend large sums of money on a continuous basis on "homeland security" in order to avert any POSSIBLE attacks.

So, in order to protect ourselves, we must spend more money that we don't have on any potential attack. And if they do succeed in attacking us, imagine the state of fear and hysteria that will ensue. Hysteria that will undoubtedly result in even more security expenditures.

The sad thing about this is that United States' financial bankruptcy is the goal of these terrorists. Well, actually I don't think most of them are even concerned with bankrupting the United States, but their very intelligent leader is. The very cold, calculating and incredulously insidious Osama Bin Laden recently made it clear that he intends to financially bleed this nation dry. This is a tactic that he claims worked for him in the past. He cited the condition of Russia following ten years of fighting so-called "terrorists" in Afghanistan.

His most chilling statement being that for every $1 his terrorist organization
has spent on strikes, it has cost the United States $1 million in economic
fallout and military spending, including emergency funding for Iraq and
Afghanistan.

Ironically, the United States' financial mismanagement is playing right into the hands of the terrorists that we are supposed to be fighting. The way that we have overextended ourselves in war, and the way that we have alienated ourselves from a world community that would be willing to help us if we provided just cause, have both played a role in our financial woes. Unfortunately, there seems to be no quick solution, nor any financial solution that would reverse this trend any time in the next 5 years.

We are bearing 90% of the financial costs of the war due to our international arrogance. Who's gonna pay that? We are! When? During this generation of workers, and at least during the next.

Medical, Educational, and Transportational costs are in the stratosphere. When are we gonna suffer as a result? Now and for multiple years to come. Is there any plausible solution in sight that will allow us to maintain our "high-level" of living while paying back these debts? Not at all!

And finally, terrorists are seeking to bankrupt this country, can they succeed? I hope not. Is there any way to avoid this possibility? Yes! It starts with being honest with the American public about the financial crisis that we're in. The process continues with wiser decision making (you know, like not sending your armed services into war unless you have to) and better money management.

My point in writing this is that I believe that we have made a huge mistake by pre-empting a war. If we had found just cause to enter Iraq by actually implementing the scoffed at notion of a "global test," which is simply diplomacy, then we would't be in nearly as much financial peril as we find ourselves in now.

Surely the events of 9/11 were going to cost us. And indeed some industries were already in a financial funk (i.e. transportation), but we have only exacerbated the problem by "going it alone" in Iraq. This has further segregated us from countries that served as our allies in the 1st Gulf War and who also incurred a much larger percentage of the monetary burden of the war. And the saddest part of all of this is that this scenario is what Bin Laden wants. He is smart enough to know that if a nation has no money, it cannot function. I'm also sure he's well aware that all previous world powers fell as a result of economic hardship in one way or another. And that is his ultimate goal-that the US can no longer threaten his agenda.

So I am again reminded of Fievel, and his American Tale. He'd be in his mid-twenties by now, and I'd rather suspect that his idea of America as the land of opportunity would be quite tainted. I'd imagine that he'd still be attempting to leave Russia, but not necessarily for America. Maybe Great Britain, maybe France, or maybe even Cuba.

You see, before, America was the Ultimate immigrant destination. Now, however, people are noting that it might not be the land of "milk and honey" that it was once purported to be. And our monetary mistakes are only helping that idea become the reality.

-Maelstrom