WaxWorks
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Monday, March 03, 2003
There are several disturbing aspects to this Time magazine piece. It's got something for everyone.
First, for those of you cynical believers that this war has political underpinnings for Bush, there's this:
But the war may also be the White House's way out of the problem. Bush advisers say the economy will surge after the war, as businesses start investing and consumers start spending. And victory in war can jump-start a President's stalled poll numbers. With a postwar mandate, say advisers, congressional opposition to his tax cuts will melt away. "History shows," a top Bush adviser tells Time, "once the shooting starts, the public rallies around the President. And once it's over, this President will use his political capital to get things done at home."
And for you deficit-hawks, here's the attitude of the administration about the potential cost of the war:
Meanwhile, an easy victory over Saddam may still not deliver what Bush needs and may contribute instead to the government's financial burdens. The budget deficit, already more than $300 billion, will probably grow by at least an additional $50 billion to $100 billion to pay for the combat, the cooperation of allies and the beginning of a multiyear commitment to rebuild Iraq.
Bush aides say the deficit doesn't worry them because it remains a small percentage of the $10 trillion economy. "Even if it is 500 (billion), so what?" asks one, adding that the public is willing to put up with deficits to pay for security at home and abroad.
Speaking of homeland security, does this reassure anyone?
Shortly after noon on Friday, Feb. 7, the nation's secretary of homeland security, Tom Ridge, announced that the nation had been placed on "high risk" of terrorist attacks. As he issued his dire warning, almost nobody in Washington knew that eight hours earlier, a team of heavily armed security agents of a hostile foreign government had landed on American soil.
Luckily, the four men were not terrorists. They were defecting Cubans, agents of the Cuban coast guard, who arrived in Key West, Fla., aboard a 30-foot government patrol boat, the Cuban flag still flapping from the mast.
Carrying two AK-47 rifles and full clips of ammunition, they docked their boat before dawn at the marina of the local Hyatt hotel, a short distance from the United States Coast Guard station. Undetected, the Cubans, still in their camouflage uniforms and black boots, marched into the middle of the sultry Florida resort town looking for someone to surrender to.
Maybe Hillary and Schumer have a point about protecting our borders and ports?
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