It’s tourist season in Washington DC. , and the hordes are back. Giant buses monopolize parking and impede traffic, clueless drivers from the hinterlands block crossroads and turn left on red, high school senior classes gaze, point, giggle or looked bored.
I wonder if they realize that the f*ckers have won?
By the f*ckers, of course, I am referring to the various terrorist factions throughout the world that have managed to nibble and gnaw at the small daily freedoms once allowed us.
Recently, the Supreme Court closed its front entrance on Capitol Hill. Terrorist fears are cited. The Old Executive Building
Pennsylvania Avenue fronting the White House has of course been closed to traffic since the Reagan years.
Entrance to most if not all government buildings is allowed only with an ID card. Full body scans at airports following impossible delays as our carry on luggage is checked and we are forced to dispose of any bottles of liquid larger than 3.4 ounces. The latter, by the way, includes snow globes, so don’t buy one at the airport gift shop.
Still reading? If you live in the Western world, your life has been influenced—probably for the negative—by the actions of others who have your worst interest in mind. Terrorism has led us into unwinnable conflicts on two fronts. More than 5000 American soldiers have died, and these wars will have cost us $1.08 trillion by the end of 2010, according to the Center for Defense Information. The breakdown looks like this.
Entrance to most if not all government buildings is allowed only with an ID card. Full body scans at airports following impossible delays as our carry on luggage is checked and we are forced to dispose of any bottles of liquid larger than 3.4 ounces. The latter, by the way, includes snow globes, so don’t buy one at the airport gift shop.
Still reading? If you live in the Western world, your life has been influenced—probably for the negative—by the actions of others who have your worst interest in mind. Terrorism has led us into unwinnable conflicts on two fronts. More than 5000 American soldiers have died, and these wars will have cost us $1.08 trillion by the end of 2010, according to the Center for Defense Information. The breakdown looks like this.
Estimated War-Related Costs,
In billions of budgeted dollars | ||||||||||
Operation | FY 2001+ 2002 | FY 20031 | FY 20042 | FY 20053 | FY 2006 | FY 2007 | FY 2008 | FY 2009 | FY 2010 | Total |
$53.0 | $75.9 | $84.6 | $101.9 | $133.2 | $526 | $657 | $706 | $2,337.6 | ||
20.8 | 14.7 | 14.5 | 20.9 | 19.1 | 36.8 | 140 | 173 | 300 | 739.8 | |
Enhanced security | 13.0 | 8.0 | 3.7 | 2.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 28 | 5 | 29 | 90.0 |
Unable to allocate | 5.5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20.5 | |||||
Totals | $33.8 | $81.1 | $94.1 | $107.6 | $121.8 | $170.4 | $700 | $864 | $1,080 | $3,252.8 |
1. Includes $5.5 billion of $7.1 billion appropriated in DOD's FY2003 Appropriations Act (P.L. 107-48) for the global war on terror that CRS cannot allocate and DOD cannot track.
2. Of the $25 billion provided in Title IX of the FY2005 DOD appropriation bill, CRS includes $2 billion in FY2004 when it was obligated and the remaining $23 billion in FY2005. Because Congress made the funds available in FY2004, CBO and OMB score all $25 billion in FY2004.
3. Includes funds in the FY2007 Supplemental (H.R. 2206/P.L. 110-28), Title IX, P.L. 109-289, FY2007 DOD Appropriations Act (H.R. 5631) designated for war and funds for other agencies in H.J. Res 20, P.L. 110-50, the year-long Continuing Resolution. VA Medical estimates reflect VA FY2008 budget materials and CRS estimates. Amounts for foreign and diplomatic operations reflects State Department figures.
Think of this! What could this country do with a trillion dollars? Repair old schools and build new ones? Upgrade hospitals in rural areas? Fix the electricity grid? Re-invent something like Roosevelt ’s Work Program Administration? Clean up the environment…
Wars are always costly; they’ve been known to bankrupt nations. So here’s a suggestion or two. Force the countries harboring terrorists to be accountable. That means freeze all the accounts they hold in European, Asian or American banks. Treat them like the international pariahs they should be and do not allow their citizens to come here and take advantage of us, our educational system, our kindness. Terrorists want to kill us, and they don’t play fair, so we should allow no quarters.
If we use our resources intelligently, fighting terrorism shouldn’t cost a trillion bucks, and we don’t have to let the f*ckers win.
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