And as far as Clinton's military cut-backs are concerned, this was perfectly consistent with the collapse of the Soviet Union and the fact that until Bush started shooting his mouth off about "axis of evil," no other nation constituted any kind of threat. There was the threat of terrorist activity, which Clinton was aware of and tried to warn the incoming Bush administration about, but they didn't want to hear it.

Clinton knew, as Bush does not, that an international terrorist organization like al Qaeda would have to be handled through intelligence agencies, international cooperation, and surgical strikes against the terrorist organizations themselves. Invading another country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attack is just about the stupidest thing this country could have done. Guaranteed to increase the problem.

We wouldn't need a huge military had it not been for Bush's arrogance and incompetence, aided and abetted by blunderers like Rumsfeld and Rice, not to mention war-profiteers like Cheney's friends and business associates (no-bid contracts to Halliburton).

Don Firth