Iraq Is Making Us Weaker

Neo-conservatives (as compared to traditional, moderate Republicans) keep repeating several memes as if enough repetition will make them true. Many Americans have come to believe them. One is that we have to fight them over there or we'd be fighting them here. Another is that the war in Iraq is making us stronger. Wrong on both counts.

Once the war in Iraq is over those thousands of terrorists, trained on the meanest streets in the world, will bring their terror to our streets. I recall being direly afraid that Iraqi paratroopers were about to descend on Pottsville and Altoona (that was a bit of satire folks).

An Associated Press story out this week is detailing a $530 million shortfall in operating expenses for our domestic military bases. Utilities are threatening to cut off the power at places like Fort Sam Houston, Fort Bragg can't buy pens, and they can't afford to even keep dining halls open at Fort Knox. I can hear Bush now.....let them eat gold.

Why? The funds are being drained for Iraq.

As Congress spent months debating the supplemental spending bill, the Army had to divert money from the Installation Management Agency's budget to cover the cost of the war, Oertwig said.

The Army's Installation Management Agency is $530 million short of what it needs through Oct. 1 to fund the garrisons at the 117 installations it oversees in the United States, Europe and Asia, agency spokesman Stephen Oertwig said.

So the myth that fighting this war is strengthening us has been exposed. We are so weak at home that base commanders cannot provide basic services for our soldiers and their families. They deserve better. They deserve the necessities like electricity. Though local utilities say they won't cut off the lights what does this say about the basic competency of our government? How many more examples do we need before we throw these bums out of office?

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It makes me worry if the Pentagon can't do its accounting well enough to find money for its electric bills," he said. "It just boggles my mind a little bit."

I agree. Make your views known on election day.