It is the War Stupid

Chicken Little ran around in circles squawking THE SKY IS FALLING. Poll driven presidential candidates are now jumping through hoops trying to fix the economy with platitudes, because the electorate is suffering from high gas, food, medical aid, heating fuel, and unemployment; all reflected in a sinking stock market. As the dollar sinks on the world market, costs of US goods becomes more expensive to produce. Democrats and Republicans are thinking about a 100 billion dollar bailout. This would drive the country deeper in debt. It ignores the root causes of Bush's failed economy: the Iraq War...

Figure it out yourself. President Clinton left a 127 billion dollar surplus. GW Bush not only plowed through that to build a 160 billion declared deficit, but failed to account for his trillion dollar war expenditure off budget. So the deficit realistically is three or four times as much. The American people may not understand this, but the bankers of the world understand it well. And this is reflected in the historic low dollar exchange rates.

Like trying to defy gravity, Bush Cut Taxes which limited his ability to fund his wars. He complicated the situation by shipping jobs overseas encouraging the destruction of the income producing US manufacturing base by signing a trade deal not in the US economic interests.

His voodoo economics appeared to hinge on the state capitalism generated by the war profits and money from secondary financing of home equity financing. Both blew up in his face. There was very little trickle down from the war profiteers and the second mortgage market collapsed under pressure of higher adjusted interest rates.

Democratic critics of the Iraq war seemed to have bought into the myth that the surge is working. If this is the case why do Bush and Bomb, Bomb McCain want to stop drawdowns of troops? Why did General Petraeus just drop 40 thousand pounds of bombs near Baghdad? Insurgents have remorselessly been picking off members of Patraeus' Awakening Councils. As of 16 January 22 US troops have been killed this month. Bush goes to Israel and publicly disputes the latest findings of the Iran National Intelligence Estimate. You got to wonder where the man gets his intelligence. He tried British intelligence in his Yellow Cake fiasco and it wrecked his credibility. He better get home soon.

Its been reported that over 25 American Kurdish oil exploitation deals have been signed. Without an agreement from the Iraqi central government, these deals are illegal. This signals the death of Saddam's Iraq and the birth of GW Bush's Iraq. There is no way Bush will permit these deals to be walked back. When was the last time you heard Bush bleating on democracy in Iraq? If Bush has his way the occupation of Iraq is permanent. If Bomb Bomb McCain is elected, he will make it the 51st state.

The democrats are in the main fellow travelers to this policy. There is no acceptable excuse the democratic congress did not stop war funding. It costs the US over 12 billion a month for the Iraq war – the war is replete with waste, abuse and corruption. For example a huge US embassy was built in Baghdad. It is four times the size of the Pentagon. It cost 736 million dollars and it is a fire trap – no inspection agency will authorize occupancy. It was built under State Department supervision. Condoleezza cannot even build an embassy.

It is obvious the Iraq war spending is the basic cause of the deficit that drives the US economic woes.. This problem was enhanced by the tax cuts and the economic damage caused by rampant globalization.

During the Savings and Loan scandal years ago, a Texan was called into court to explain the expenditure of over 3 million dollars. He explained he spent a million on Women; a million on dope and booze and the last million, he just pissed away. Colonel Robert E Bartos USA Ret.