We had to put up with a lot during the Bush era, but we also had to hold plenty back. Among other things, we wondered whether American security services were capable of perceiving reality and analyzing it accurately. During that time, all sorts of terrorists, along with their “rogue state” sponsors, were paraded endlessly before us in order to keep us alert to the dangers that lurked around every corner.
Now, under Obama, a sense of reality appears to be returning to the previous bunker mentality of the Bush years. This was shown recently when the new Director of National Intelligence, Admiral Dennis Blair, testified before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence concerning future threats to the United States.
Blair spoke about Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and other subjects originating in the Near East and Asia. But, then he came to the real point of his presentation. The economic crisis and its geopolitical effects, according to Blair, represent the greatest threat to the United States. The crisis has already damaged the world’s trust in free markets and the United States’ ability to economically lead. And the longer the problems remain unsolved – Blair mentioned two years – the greater the danger of serious damage to America’s strategic interests.
Makes one wonder who should be bombed in such a situation!
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