If I read another editorial associating the war in Iraq with the greater war on terrorism….

The Bush administration propoganda machine has convinced far too many people that the occupation efforts in Iraq are a cornerstone to the war on terror despite the following facts:

1. The war has diverted military resources from Afghanistan (a very real source of terrorism) and moved them to Iraq.
2. The cost of the war in Iraq has taken money away from the homeland security budget. The Coast Guard, tasked with protecting our ports and waterways, has estimated that the upgrades mandated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act would cost roughly $7.5 billion. But they have received only $500 million. What’s worse — only 4 to 6 percent of all cargo coming through U.S. each day is properly screened.

The information above comes, in part, from this article.

Bush has successfully won over the majority of Republicans in the country, but he might be losing hardcore conservatives and libertarians who see through the smokescreen and understand that Iraq has more to do with nation-building than fighting a war against terror (don’t believe me? Read the editorial of the Tribune Review, or if you dare, Pat Buchanan’s website). What’s worse? Military folks serving in Iraq have begun to wonder aloud why Americans are focusing on things like the Vietnam war while they are mired in a very West Bank-esque scenario.

Posted on 12 September 2004