If the U.S. Government’s first priority is the security of its citizens, then could it be that this Administration’s priorities are simply wrong?

I submit that the answer to the above very serious accusations is a simple, “Yes!” That said, I invite you to consider carefully the full implications of what this all means. Just for starters, it means that the country is heading in the wrong direction and that the fabled War On Terror may well be one of the lesser problems we have to deal with. But there is more, so think on.

Meanwhile, let me develop my arguments a little further.

The threat of Terrorism: Not a dominant threat.

Terrorism is a threat to a security, and needs to be countered, but it is certainly not the dominant threat to our security that President Bush is making it out to be.

This is not to say that terrorists could not gain access to weapons of mass destruction – pretty much anything is possible – but more that the balance of evidence suggests it is a manageable threat, at a reasonable cost in lives and money, if this Administration does not hype the bogeyman of terror (arguably for reasons of political advantage) into the kind of conflagration that could engulf the Middle East in war, deprive us of oil, seriously damage our economy and cost innumerable American and other lives.

But is such a downside possible?

Sad to say, the evidence of Bush’s track record would indicate that such developments are not only possible but tend towards the probable. This president (the Commander-In-Chief, let us remember) invaded Iraq with no plan about what to do after major combat (which was not that major) finished.

That is not a criticism: It’s an indictment.

But me proceed.

Bush has a strong ego. He does not read. He does not listen. He is not thoughtful. He seems remarkably lacking in intellectual curiosity. He seems to have no analytical ability. He appears to hate foreigners (about whom he knows little even though they comprise 95% of the World’s population). He appears to care little about people’s lives unless they are rich enough to back him politically. He is not informed. He appears to be remarkably lacking in genuine human concern. He functions from within a heavily guarded cocoon served only by a carefully selected group of advisors who will, it appears, do anything – regardless of truth, integrity and morality – to keep him in office. His life, past and present, is a lie at almost every level. In essence, he is a creation of no caliber apart from a salesman’s superficial charm, designed by his minders and political backers to seek and hold onto power solely because of his name. As with any product, from soft drinks to toilet paper, his value lies mainly in his brand recognition.

That totality, since the American public have chosen to elect him to be President of the United States, not once but twice, makes him appallingly dangerous. Like other men of scant worth before him, he would like to make his mark on history, regardless of the cost to the country he leads or the World as a whole.

Consider that in the last few days alone, the price of oil has reached $67 a barrel and the President has threatened Iran with military action. Factor in that he has already threatened Syria and that fighting in Afghanistan is very far from over.

Consider that since the invasion of Iran, for reasons which turned out not to be valid, we have wrecked that nation’s already troubled economy in the guise of saving it; killed, wounded and imprisoned hundreds of thousands of Iraqis; lost about 2,500 American dead (US and Allied military and contractors); had about 14,000 wounded - and damaged the US treasury to the tune of roughly $250 billion and climbing.

In addition, at a time when we have never needed friends more, we have managed to alienate most of the rest of the world to the point where this country is widely despised – even by our traditional allies.

So what, many Americans will reply. We are the strongest country militarily in the World – and the largest economy. No one can take us on.

Look no further than the situation in Iraq to see the lie in that.

Consider the devastating damage that will be done to the US economy if the price of oil continues to increase.

Consider that every increase in the price of oil increases the funding available for the support of terrorism. We are actually bank-rolling our enemies and doing little about it because, amongst other reasons, the President and his family have worryingly close ties with the Saudis (who are the main source of funding, and a not inconsiderable source of manpower, for the terrorists).

Terrorism and Homeland Security – or the lack of it.

The Bush Administration’s oft stated concerns about terrorism – and its foreign adventures - would be more convincing (if still misguided) if, nearly four years after 9/11, adequate precautions had been taken to secure the American Homeland. Instead, we find that the Bush Administration has bowed to the pressures of business interests (who are determined to have cheap labor and positively do not intend to pay for security) to the extent that:

• Our borders remain effectively open to the extent that literally millions of illegal immigrants are entering the US each year.

• Key targets such as chemical plants, many either near or in major population centers, many capable of inflicting mass casualties if sabotaged, remain as vulnerable as ever.

• Incoming containers – and there are millions of them each year - remain virtually un-checked. Air cargo (as opposed to passengers) remains virtually unchecked.

• Our accessible infrastructure – bridges, tunnels, power distribution, gas storage, pipelines, refineries, Internet hubs, data centers and so on - remains pretty much as accessible and vulnerable as ever.
  
  

Other foreign threats

Clearly we do face other foreign threats though, if you think about it carefully, most supposedly hostile nations are more concerned about our possible actions against them, than they are motivated by a real determination to invade or otherwise hurt us.

In short, we are being threatened because we are threatening. True, these countries do not like us much but, in essence, we are generating our own enemies. In this category, countries such as North Korea, Iran and Syria come particularly to mind; and, longer term, there are more than a few in Washington DC who feel that war with China is inevitable – so are acting in a way which could well make such a cataclysm a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Folks, there are well over 1.3 billion Chinese? And they are a nuclear power with considerable expertise in rocketry? And they are extremely smart?

Do we really want to orchestrate a shooting war, which stands a good chance of going nuclear, with these guys?

Are we nuts? Does nobody remember the lessons of World War I where the World stumbled into an abattoir for humans virtually by accident – and was, seemingly, indifferent to the consequences until it was too late.

By the way, total casualties in WW I – a pre-nuclear conflict - are estimated at around 37.5 million. WW II added at least another 20 million. As to WW III, it might be better for all concerned - not to find out. What is certain is that an awful lot of Americans will die in it to the extent that Vietnam – which we lost – will appear as nothing.

China and the Axis of Evil (a remarkably provocative and stupid phrase) apart, it seems highly likely that other threats will crop up and that some will become extremely dangerous. Such is the nature of the world we live in. One could come up with many examples but arguably the simplest would be a revolution in Saudi Arabia which would, simultaneously, deprive us of access to Saudi oil.

Without enough oil, the US economy will tank - and the consequences will not be pretty.

The balance of probability is that the US will have to intervene in various countries in the years ahead both for practical reasons such as the desperate need to keep the oil flowing, and for related reasons such as the need to intervene if Russia (for instance) intervenes in a nation of strategic interest to us.

The irony here is that despite all Secretary Rumsfeld’s talk about Transformation and re-structuring the services to make them faster and leaner and lighter (as if one could assess military competence by weight, or the lack of it) the services and their equipment have ended up about as worn out as they have ever been since WW II.

The War On Terror has left us militarily a great deal weaker –and, particularly in Iraq, has handed the terrorists (who were not initially in Iraq to any significant extent) the moral high ground. And, there is considerable evidence that, two and a half years after the invasion of Iraq, we are losing this particular war. True, the insurgents cannot hurt us much militarily – if we remain cooped up in our giant bases and do little - but they can bleed us both physically and economically, they can neutralize our reconstruction efforts, and they can keep significant portions of the country unstable. In short they can and have denied us the initiative - and that is all they need to do.

Now, riddle me this: Precisely how does that help National Security?

Is Iraq not, indeed, redolent of Vietnam? But wait, it gets worse because Iraq is a country of genuine strategic interest to us.

What are these National Security threats that we should really be concerned about? The ones to worry about are self inflicted. We are in self destruct mode.

My essential point is not that we do not face threats of various degrees of severity from across the globe, but that we need to stop thinking in simplistic military terms.

Instead, there is a real imperative to assess any and all threats in a more holistic way, and to appreciate that although some threats involve physical force and the time honored tradition of breaking things and killing people, others span the spectrum of possibilities from deliberate campaigns to break our will - to economic warfare; and that all these techniques either are, or can be, connected.

More importantly, we also need to wrap our brains around the disturbing reality that one can make a very good case that the main threats to the security of our citizens are internally generated – and that no external enemy at all is necessarily involved.

Indeed, we are currently making ever more impressive progress towards destroying life as we know it in the US from within. We are in self destruct mode. America won’t vanish in a puff of smoke – the process, like cancer, is more insidious – but the quality of American life could well degenerate significantly. In truth, I would argue that it already has but most Americans don’t know it because of unparalleled hype on the one hand and because most Americans are profoundly ignorant of what other countries are achieving.

That may sound alarmist and fanciful but there is plenty of evidence to support that ‘self destruct mode’ claim, and precedent over the millennia shows that most great powers collapse from within – albeit with a little help from the Huns or the Mongols or the Normans or Al Qaeda or whatever bunch happens to be on the approved list of external enemies at the time.

Now, let me list the evidence:

Though one of our greatest points of immediate economic vulnerability is our dependence on imported energy, we have no policy to become self sufficient in energy.

The Bush Administration rammed through an Energy Bill recently so has been touting its successes in the energy field. Unfortunately, although this Energy Bill will do a great deal for the bottom lines of major energy corporates, who scarcely need the tax breaks involved, it will do virtually nothing at all to institute an Energy Strategy. Once more, President Bush has helped a few very rich friends to the great detriment of the American people.

America desperately needs an Energy Strategy. The reasons are obvious and compelling. Three primary concerns are involved here. The first concerns the sheer availability of oil (and other energy products) from unstable foreign suppliers. As matters stand, supply is very far from guaranteed. The second relates to the sheer cost of obtaining such supplies. Even if we can get what we need, will it really be good for this economy to have to pay $100 a barrel – and rising? The third involves our whole approach to the utilization of energy. Do we intend to proceed with consuming energy as normal like a bunch of lemmings until doom is certain - or are we going to change our whole approach to energy utilization?

An energy strategy focused on making America self sufficient in energy could have so many benefits (if properly implemented – positively not a given) it is hard to know where to begin. It would generate high quality jobs, stimulate American ingenuity, galvanize education, improve the environment, reduce our trade deficit, revitalize the economy and aid our technology exports. And it would be fun in the fine tradition of: “Let’s show the bastards!”

One of the arguments of the Bush Administration against an energy strategy is that technological breakthroughs – such as hydrogen power - are not yet ready for prime time so an energy strategy would just be a waste of money.

That sounds credible - because many promising technologies are not fully developed – but it is also grossly misleading.

The facts are that we could do a vast amount to reduce energy consumption right now and to encourage more efficient usage though existing technologies. Corporations did just that after the oil crisis in 1973. They used techniques as simple as increasing insulation to great economic benefit – and that was over 30 years ago. The precedents are there and technology has improved vastly since then - as California’s new Zero Energy Homes, to give one very small example, are demonstrating. The Nation just needs a sense of direction or what some call ‘Leadership.’

The underlying truth is that for America to continue depending on imported energy from unstable foreign sources is a National Security issue of incalculable proportions.

Though our economy is growing well on paper, the fact is that the standard of living for about 80% of the population has not improved for nearly three decades and may well be in active decline right now.

The Bush Administration is currently touting the success of its tax cut led economic policies and points to the facts that the economy is growing at over 3% and that unemployment is down to 5%.

These figures are both true (as far as I know) and grossly misleading in their implications. I hate to quote a cliché but the saying, “There are lies, damn lies and statistics,” instantly comes to mind.

The implication of the Administration touting growth figures is that if the overall economy is growing, your personal income is growing. It is a credible claim at first glance, but the facts, where about 80% of the population is concerned, don’t back it up.

The facts show that the top layer is indeed getting richer, but that the average family is almost certainly losing ground. This is because Bush’s tax cuts were slanted to benefit the rich and corporate interests, and because rising health contributions (even if you do have health insurance), education costs, gas costs and state and local taxes – to name but some of the cost increase elements – are crucifying both the Middle and Working Classes.

Unfortunately, it does not stop there. In addition, we now have a situation where not only are more and more employers cutting back or abolishing health insurance, but even hard earned corporate pensions are at risk for millions.

A reasonable person would, most certainly, regard such an assault on the wellbeing of the average American a National Security crisis.

Though how we treat the environment has a direct effect on our health and the quality of our lives, the overall state of the US environment is a major cause for concern – and that is before one gets to global warming and the impact of a truly vast rash of de-regulation by the Bush Administration.

Research shows that the majority of Americans are not that interested in the Environment (an indictment in itself of both the educational system and government leadership). They don’t seem to think it affects them directly. Preserving the Environment is seen as more of an abstract cause which might be nice to support in theory except that most citizens have more pressing priorities.

Well, such attitudes might be reasonable if the Environment was something you could keep in a store and only take out occasionally but since the Environment concerns the air we breathe, the water we need for survival and wellbeing of the very Earth we dwell on, and live off, such a careless attitude defies rationality.

The facts are that pollution and other abuses of the Environment cause a staggering array of unpleasant and expensive medical problems for millions up to and including death – and that the USA is now so polluted that even if we stopped tomorrow, it would take centuries for the Environment to return to a healthy state; and some damage would be permanent.

Worse still, we have polluted the oceans around us so seriously that even something as traditionally healthy as eating fish regularly can be harmful to one’s health.

Osama Bin Laden would be proud to accomplish so much damage to America – and that is before Global Warming is factored in.

Abuse of the environment is a National Security threat of major proportions.

Though we spend half again or more as other advanced nations spend on health care – and pride ourselves on having the best health care system in the world – the fact is that not only are health costs beginning to hurt and cripple more and more average families, but our international rating shows that the quality of our health care is mediocre at best.

The rich will get outstanding medical care regardless of where they live because they have the money to travel and to pay for it. I wish them well - but the rich are not the issue here. The health care of the average American is – as are the facts that over 40 million American have no health care at all, and over twice that number find themselves in that situation in any one year. Tens of millions of others are under-insured. Further, corporations are cutting back on health benefits at an alarming rate – and health costs are rising way faster than inflation. In fact health costs are now such a major item that they are beginning to impact on the creation of jobs.

The health care system is a mess and it is literally killing people because expensive as it is, it is just not that good. Medical error and hospital acquired infections alone kill a couple of hundred thousand people alone each year – and that is before you get to the side effects of legally prescribed drugs.

American health care casts are more than 50% higher than those of other advanced nations for several measurable reasons: Firstly, insurance companies and HMOs are so concerned not to pay out too much that administrative costs are substantially higher in the US: Secondly, US health care is market driven so there is a primary focus on specifying the patient expensive care instead of focusing - as was traditionally the case – on simply caring for the patient: Thirdly, US pharmaceutical companies grossly overcharge the American consumer with the excuse that breakthrough drugs cost a fortune to produce (ignoring the fact that many are government financed).

The bottom line is that health care is about as fundamental to the safety of the average American citizen as it gets.

Though Americans love American food, there is ever increasing evidence that intensive factory farming techniques are producing raw materials of dubious quality and that the diet we eat by way of processed foods and fast food restaurants is killing way more Americans each year than terrorists could hope to do in a century.

We have had a succession of health scandals from asbestos to smoking, but the biggest scandal by far – which is only just beginning to break - concerns the appalling state of American food. Produce is sprayed with potentially harmful chemicals. Animal raw material such as beef, pork and poultry is overdosed with hormones, antibiotics and other additives – many of which are banned in other countries – reared under cruel and un-hygienic conditions and then when processed, or served in restaurants, prepared in such a way with excesses of salt, sugar, fillers and other additives as to virtually guarantee disastrous health results.

President Bush would be better employed worrying less about the War On Terror and worrying a great deal more about America’s Disastrous Diet.

The situation is so bad and so serious that, despite all the advances in medical care, life expectancy of the average US citizen looks like dropping.

Now if that – the premature death of hundreds of millions of American citizens - is not a threat to National Security, I don’t know what is.

Though most Americans quite rightly want strong defense, one has to be greatly concerned about the results. On the one hand, we are spending more on defense than just about every other nation in the world put together; and, on the other hand, the insurgents in Iraq alone (a nation with a population of only 25 million – compared to our 300 million) have been able to fight us to a de facto standstill.

The US Defense Budget is so vast and so out of control that its excesses are hard to explain because they defy credibility. Thanks to a blend of gross negligence by both the Administration and Congress, and the greed and ignorance of both the defense contractors and the military - and massive corruption all round – we have now reached the stage where not only are we outspending the rest of the World combined (which is lunacy) but we cannot account for what we have spent according to the Comptroller General. Further, the military’s desire for the latest technology is so obsessive that modern weapons have become so expensive on a per unit basis that we can scarcely afford to use them, let alone lose them. In essence, we are spending more and more to buy fewer and fewer weapons.

It does not seem to occur to the Defense Establishment that the national interest requires that other priorities such as Health, Education, Social Security and the Environment have to be met.

To illustrate the point with just two examples, reflect that just one single F-22 fighter costs, at approaching $400 million, roughly the same as a brand new state of the art 250 bed hospital.

Reflect then that we are spending well over one billion dollars a week to keep the Iraq war going – and that the F-22 is near useless in this kind of war.

On top of everything else, not only are we spending far too much on weapons but all too frequently we are buying the wrong things.

Oh, and by the way a single B2 bomber costs $2.114 billion as of 2005. Don’t even ask about spare parts and other running costs. Just weep.

Though we are vastly proud of the myth of American democracy, there is considerable evidence that the real system is not working as originally planned – and that the average American has lost confidence in it. In fact, it gives every sign of being hijacked by the rich and other special interests to the great disadvantage of the average American. In essence, it has become corrupted.

Under the Bush Administration, the budget surplus created by the Clinton Administration – which started office with a deficit inherited from Bush Senior – was eliminated and the greatest deficit in American history created to the great benefit of the rich and to the economic disadvantage of the average American.

Recent research by the Indiana University Center On Congress found that 86% of Americans thinks that lawmakers lie, over 80% think they spend more time on getting re-elected than doing the work of the American public, and about 57% don’t like the way Congress is doing its job (with negative sentiments higher amongst older and well-educated Americans).

During the last Presidential Election, 79 million Americans did not vote.

When the 2005 $286 Transportation Bill was signed by President Bush, it contained 6,371 pork projects – which had nothing to do with the issue at hand – and which wasted the taxpayer an astounding $25 billion.

The above are but a few examples to illustrate a growing feeling that the American political system has been taken over by the rich, and corporate interests, at the expense of the normal working American.

“Washington is corporate occupied territory,” argues Ralph Nader – and there is every evidence that he is right.

“One citizen, one vote,” may well be what the constitution says (roughly) but the realpolitik implementation is far closer to: “One dollar, one vote; more dollars, more votes; many more dollars, more access to the political decision making process.”

One could talk a great deal more about corruption in the electoral process – both Florida and Ohio come to mind re the Presidential election – but the growing lack of trust in the system that is emerging from the American public is far more serious.

Without trust, the system – no matter what you call it – will self destruct. It is also a truly lousy role model for nations trying to emerge from autocratic leadership – such as Iraq. Fundamentally, it suggests that behind a façade of popular participation by the electorate, America is no more democratic in practice than your average dictatorship or oligarchy – where a privileged elite rules the roost regardless of who is nominally in power. Yes, I know that is something of an exaggeration but we are talking perception here. Then again, how apart from reality is the perception?

Is a massive decline in support for American Democracy a crisis – and a threat to National Security?

I would like to believe that most of us would think so - but I am very far from sure.

Though America remains at the forefront of many cutting-edge technologies, American are measurably losing ground across a wide spread of advanced technologies – and many are widely considered to be less than well educated. The ignorance factor: Is there genuine cause for concern?

"First God created idiots. That was for practice. Then he created school boards" Mark Twain

American power rests on the pillars of a vast and vibrant economy, and an extraordinarily innovative and technologically advanced culture – which in turn depends on a highly educated and technologically advanced culture.

Well, that is the good news. Unfortunately, such a past is not indicative of the likely reality in the future. The disturbing news is that a plethora of reports covering everything from international competitiveness to the skills of our secondary school students indicates that we are losing ground rapidly in relation to the capabilities of our peers across the globe. Further, surveys of the general US population, from the average voter to college students, indicates a lack of awareness of general issues that is truly alarming.

Legislative Acts like ‘No Child Left Behind’ generate a great deal of media coverage but the evidence is that they make scant real difference – despite great cost to the taxpayer – because of a near universal tendency by teachers to teach down to the test instead of up to the potential of the students.

The bottom line is not that America has a hopeless educational system – individual aspects shine – but more that most of it is truly not up to international standards.

Many Americans aware of this in a fuzzy sense but fail to realize either the extent or the consequences of the problem – partly because they are not adequately educated themselves. Poor education feeds upon poor education. The dumbing down of America is a spiral – heading down.

Is the dumbing down of America a National Security issue? Of course it is. In fact only someone truly dumbed down would think otherwise.

The essential argument of this document is that there is much more to safeguarding the security of American than jingoistic comments about “Carrying the fight to the enemy,” or “Fighting terrorism in Iraq is infinitely preferable to fighting terrorism in America.”

Such observations are both superficially true but are also grossly misleading.

The truth is that if we do not repair our own weaknesses what happens in Iraq will be the least of our worries.