THE WAR ON TERROR

America can not afford to lose the War on Terrorism.

Our problem right now is that the Bush administration has always treated the War on Terrorism as a political program, like the War on Poverty or the War on Drugs. They have used it shamelessly as a political tool to advance their own agenda, and especially as a source of nearly limitless money to pour into the pockets of their cronies.

We have MORE private contractors in Iraq than troops, getting paid princely sums that far exceed what a poor reservist gets. We spend $BILLIONS in contracts to build bases, to operate oil facilities, to protect civilian personnel. Why is the administration negotiating with the government of Iraq for permission to STAY LONGER? Because it''s worth $BILLIONS to them for us to stay there!!!

A REAL War on Terror would be over by now, if we had used the worldwide sympathy and good will that followed 9/11 to build alliances and intelligence networks and international police agencies to combat terrorism. All legitimate governments fear terrorism, and would cooperate to allow terrorism no safe haven.

But, sickeningly, this corrupt administration has been willing to terrorize its own population in order to advance its right wing dreams: a vast expansion of executive powers, huge sums of money showered on their cronies in the name of national security, occupation of the second largest oil reserves in the world.

We need to win the War on Terror. And to do that we need to get these neocon war criminals out of our government.