John Whitehead's Commentary
Putting America First in the War on Terrorism
One bright sunny morning in the shadow of the steeple By the relief office I saw my people-- As they stood there hungry,An astounding $87 billion! That's the amount President George W. Bush is now asking Congress to approve for the "rebuilding" of Iraq and Afghanistan. But this is not the total amount the Bush Administration proposes to spend in these countries next year. The basic cost of paying our troops and providing equipment is already included in the defense budget. And if passed, the $87 billion will push America's budget deficit well beyond $500 billion--which means this is money our country does not have. Thus, we will continue to spiral into deeper and deeper debt. And Americans, who are already strapped with over-taxation, will find an even more oppressive burden placed on them.
I stood there wondering if God blessed America for me. --Woody Guthrie, 1940
Bush's request amounts to an abandonment of a more optimistic plan sketched by administration officials earlier this year. As Deputy Defense Secretary Paul D. Wolfowitz told Congress: "We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon." Now, in a Clintonesque turnabout, Wolfowitz several days ago said the $87 billion figure is "small" in the administration's continuing struggle in Iraq and other countries.
But $80 billion has already been spent on the war and its aftermath. With this additional $87 billion, it would bring the total amount that has been put into the chaos that is Iraq to $167 billion--for a situation that has produced highly questionable results, resulted in numerous American casualties (and continues to do so) and has unwisely spread our already beleaguered military perilously thin. Add this to the fact that as we throw billions of dollars at our so-called war efforts, the American image internationally is at one of its lowest points ever.
Domestically, we are faring much worse with record job losses and extreme economic uncertainty. However, one of the saddest casualties in the Bush Administration's wars abroad is the continuing rise of poverty among Americans. Last year, an additional 1.3 million Americans fell into poverty, with almost half of them being children. The poverty role has now risen to almost 35 million--more than 12 percent of the population. This has been accompanied by a disturbing drop in impoverished families that are eligible for limited welfare in obtaining aid. And now more than 40 million Americans are without medical insurance--including approximately 9 million children. Thus, poor American people are hurting more and more. It must have some wondering "if," in the words of singer/songwriter Woody Guthrie, "God blessed America for me."
It is definitely past time for President Bush and Congress to begin taking care of Americans here at home. Indeed, $87 billion is roughly equivalent to two years of unemployment benefits, and it is 87 times what the federal government spends on after-school programs. It is more than twice as much as the $42 billion the federal government is planning to send to local school districts. It is 12 times as much as the Bush Administration is planning to spend on the president's "No Child Left Behind" education initiative. It is three times the $29 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, and it is nearly eight times what the U.S. is paying for all other foreign aid.
Because of the Bush Administration's short-sightedness in its evaluation of Iraq, we now find ourselves in a Catch-22 situation. It is highly likely that, if the American military pulls out of Iraq, the Iraqi people will find themselves under a regime that is even worse than the one they suffered under Saddam Hussein. At the same time, however, America's continued spending in Iraq and the swelling of our ominous deficit could very well destroy our country internally. With the type of deficit spending that has become common to the Bush Administration, our nation's economic situation will increasingly be faced with spiraling inflation, recession and an eventual depression.
Even if these dire consequences do not follow, the human suffering caused by our government's irresponsible spending will be immeasurable. More mothers and fathers will find their salaries reduced. Indeed, the president just announced that he will cut pay raises to civilian federal employees. Many will find themselves out of work, with little if any relief. And more importantly, even more children will go to bed hungry every night.
We live in a world of tough choices where clear priorities have to be established. And those priorities must have the welfare of the American citizen at the top of the list. It is not clear that our current president realizes where the real priorities lie. In fact, instead of jaunting around the country raising millions for his upcoming political campaign, it would seem that President Bush would be raising money to pay for programs for the needy and trying to reduce the deficit.
We seem to have fallen into the very trap that the terrorists who orchestrated the 9/11 tragedy set. We are decimating ourselves internally while we chase what appear to be phantoms around the world.
As any good football coach knows, a good defense is the best offense. Let's pray that our current leadership will start restructuring and reconstructing America and make that its first priority.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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