An ominous creaking in US power machine

[T_i_B]

Great article about the problems of the Bu$h budget defecit.

http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/opinion.cfm?id=779132003

AMERICA the superpower; America the global imperialist; America the unstoppable force. We have heard it so often of late we have come to believe it instinctively. But there has come this week a chilling reminder of the limits of that power, of America’s central vulnerability, that its feet may be made of clay.

This reminder has come most vividly in Iraq and the grisly daily toll of American life and limb. But in addition to the cost in human life, there are other costs. And they are mounting. While the initial cost of the Iraq war may not have been as high as some had feared, it is now rising at a rate of $4.6 billion a month. On top of this should be added civil and infrastructure aid. These would be on top of the cost of America’s continuing presence in Afghanistan. And these would be on top of the costs of extra security and intelligence operations across the Middle East and throughout the world.

Were this global military reach unfolding against the backdrop of a benign and expanding domestic economy, America’s budget controllers could afford to be more relaxed. Unfortunately, this is not at all the case.

What is bugging the world’s biggest economy is that even after the bursting of the "tech stock bubble" and the 11 September terror attacks, there is still something "out there" about to spring an even nastier surprise.

(snip)