Just a few numbers to ponder....
-Traffic deaths in U.S.: about 250,000 since 2001 (43,000 per year)
-Cancer deaths in U.S.: about 3,300,000 since 2001 (550,000 per year)
-War deaths in Iraq: about 655,000 Iraqi (CNN.com Oct. 06), 3,300 American since 2003 invasion
-Deaths from WTC attack (9/11/01): about 2,900
-spending on Iraq War: $6.8 billion per month in March 2005; 9.8 billion per month in March 2006 (Bloomberg.com)
One gets the feeling we have our priorities misplaced - for the amount of money and the lives the U.S. has spent on the "War on Terror," what could we have done to address these other more pressing concerns??
It's human nature to see monsters under the bed. In 1917-1919 it was Germans and Bolsheviks; in 1940-1945 it was Germans and Japanese; in 1947-1989 it was the Soviets; today it's terrorists.
This basic human nature is exploited for gain by war-profiteers in every generation. No different today. Halliburton and the defense contractors are loving it - they're making an absolute killing (sick pun intended), and taking it straight to the bank (and where do you think the Bush family, Cheney and the rest of the Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight have their investments?).
The military-industrial complex Eisenhower warned of in the late 1950s is alive and well.
