Congress looks like it might have to stay in session well into December, something the Do-Nothing Republican Congress that preceded it never would have done. The ongoing rift between the President and the Congress over the domestic budget and what will and will not be spent on Children’s Health, Veteran’s Benefits, Agricultural Reform, and so many other topics is the cause of the extended session. And the results are not clear at this moment.
And then there is the war and what will be spent on it (and will troops start to come home as part of the spending.) I tire of calling this a war, although we are apparently at an “anniversary” of the “War on Terror”. A war really has to have a defined enemy (usually a country or group of countries), terror has no such specific definition.
When Bush and Cheney try to scare the American public with assertions that Weapons of Mass Destruction are being built and aimed at us, or that if we leave Iraq, the terrorists will follow us to our country, they are using “terror” to gain their ends. How do we use the “War on Terror” to stop their activities? See… it is not really a war, although we let troops get killed and we allow war contractors to get richer and richer.
We have had a War to End All Wars, and a War on Poverty, and a Cold War, and many Wars of Words in carrying out political ends. It seems that what we really make war on is “Peace”. To attempt “Peace” we make more and extensive “War”.
We are told that we must wait for “Victory.” Some generals are now saying we should declare Victory over Al Qaida and get out of the mess now. Bush declared Victory some years ago on an aircraft carrier after parading round with his codpiece sticking out. But these Victories are not Peace.
To have real Peace we have to have no War Industry. Anywhere. Worldwide. We could turn it into Peace Industry and make tractors and trolly cars instead of tanks. We could put our weapons industry out of business and our alternative energy industry into business. We could give away free education instead of giving away free death and destruction.
But Congress will stay in extended session and very little will change.
