Our former Vice President made it quite clear that deficit spending was not a serious concern but came with the expediency of the needs of government and whatever pressures drove government in that direction.  Yet, President George W. Bush and the then Republican controlled Congress were quick to join this policy shift for a Republican Administration that resulted in probably the greatest expansion in the size of the Federal Government in our history as well as its intrusion into the private lives of American citizens.  The tragedy of 9/11/01 demanded decisive and immediate action by our government and its leadership.  I believe that our action in Afghanistan against the Taliban and El Qaeda was an appropriate and measured response.  However, their Declaration of a War on Terrorism is an action that I have never quite understood and I have referred to it often simply as a ‘nebulous’ act.  Nebulous is an adjective that is often defined as being “hazy, vague, indistinct, or confused: a nebulous recollection of the meeting; a nebulous distinction between pride and conceit”.

The implication is that such a policy that has no sound and reasonable course to make it achievable without a military presence in welcomed and unwelcomed places throughout the world for extended periods of time.  This would be costly and detrimental to both the financial and social health of our society.  However, it is not unreasonable for our government to be vigilant and take such actions that would reduce the threat of terrorism in the world.  We cannot be an International Police Force for the world with the assumption that we possess the wisdom for every society and culture in the world.  We have a value system that has separated the United States from many countries that has made us unique and distinct as well as a ‘Pillar of Hope’ for many deprived and victimized people throughout the world.  That distinction over the past decade and especially during the Bush Administration has become less clear with a deterioration of our prestige and credibility with many nations who should be natural allies.

Was the expenditure of tax dollars in the expansion and reorganization of the Federal Government in the aftermath of the national tragedy of 9/11 necessary or justified?  Was it a threat to our National Security that prompted George Bush’s invasion of Iraq in 2003?  There is another factor which I think is worthy of discussion and debate, and that is why military action in the Middle East has been financed by ‘Supplemental Appropriations’ that were not included in the Federal Budget for any given year?

Where do we go from here?  Should we increase our debtor status to China to continue the misguided policies of our government in Iraq and Afghanistan?  The United States is now facing one of the most severe economic crises in our history and how can a political party that gave George Bush carte blanche in waging a war that we did not pay for but put that burden on our children and grand children and not support to the critical and essential Economic Stimulus Program of President Barack Obama.  There seems to me to be an inherent contradiction when you will assume deficits for war and not for the working people of this nation.

Senex Magister

Dissent is the highest form of Patriotism. ~ Thomas Jefferson