Nancy C. Thomson

Who could have imagined that left-wing Hollywood would produce a movie about erratic make believe goings on in the White House?

That wonderful little comic picture called "Wag the Dog" depicts the chaotic method around which U.S. foreign policy rotates. Disclaimers came pouring out from all the stars and producers when people started equating "Wag" with the Clinton administration's bombing of Sudan and Afghanistan.

To many observers this movie was more real than make believe.

In the film, a U.S. president and his advisors decide to start a war with some insignificant country. They plot this military action in order to divert the public's attention from revelations that the president had relations with a "fire-fly girl."

American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed August 8, and it was said U.S. intelligence soon after established the identity of the responsible terrorists.

No action was taken however, until several weeks later when the U.S. sent missiles into Sudan and Afghanistan, the supposed terrorist bases. These strikes just happened to coincide with the heightened publicity, and public awareness of the Clinton - Monica Lewinsky affair.

Although the administration denies it, there is strong evidence that the "chemical facility" targeted by Tomahawk missiles in Sudan was actually a pharmaceutical plant.

The terrorist camp hit in Afghanistan is also open to question. Military advisors claim they were after Osama bin Laden, a former ally turned adversary, who was said to be holed up in this Afghanistan compound. However, he wasn't there, but others who WERE in the camp became victims. Because of these actions, our goals remain unrealized and the U.S. has a new set of enemies who were formerly friends.

Osama bin Laden, a wealthy man, is a global traveler and sometimes stays in expensive new York hotels For some time now sources say the U.S. has been trying to catch him. Why didn't the CIA or whoever grab him while he was visiting New York City?

We are warned that Americans can expect retribution around the world due to the military action. Has our foreign policy become use weapons first, ask questions later?

Multinational U.S. companies, most of them incorporated in Delaware, recognize no nation as home. Their domain is global. Our embassies around the world include commerce staff who aid "U.S." international corporations in their integration with the commerce of foreign governments. This encourages U.S. industry to leave our country and locate in nations with cheap labor and few environmental standards.

How does this affect our smaller homegrown businesses? More and more of them can't compete.

The multinationals have a good deal of influence on U.S. foreign relations. In the case of China, the international corporations themselves lobbied congress on behalf of this communist country. This was how the Chinese managed to get Most Favored Nation status for their slave labor made goods. Our foreign policy has become our trade policies of NAFTA, GATT, and the WTO.

George Washington would be amazed at the total reversal of his wise remarks concerning foreign policy. He warned of foreign entanglements and signing treaties that weren't worth the paper they are written on. He admonished us not to meddle and become embroiled in other nation's problems

Starting 100 years after Washington, our Republic began taking on the trappings of an empire

We have fought in 5 wars, none of which were in our national interest with the exception of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II. Once again the Europeans enveloped us into fighting their war at the same time, on the opposite end of the globe, the U.S. was trying to win its own battles with an aggressor.

For the past 60 years, every administration of each political party has been committed to some kind of economic and military intervention on an international scale.

H.C. Peterson 's book "Propaganda for War" describes the effort, prior to the First World War, of both government and the people to keep the United States on a neutral course with Europe's warring nations.

Starting in 1944, the U.S. was contributing financially and militarily to U.N. peacekeeping in Israel/Syria, Lebanon, Iraq/Kuwait, Angola, the Western Sahara, El Salvador, Cambodia, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Somalia, Mozambique, Rwanda, Cyprus, Haiti, Georgia, and Liberia. We have added many more to this list, which now reaches over 100 nations where our troops are located.

What are the costs involved in the intervention of foreign nations? The Korean War cost 157,000 casualties, while in Vietnam the losses were 211,000.

Almost all of America's wars are paid for by deficit financing. The international debt today is 4.5 trillion dollars. Interest on this debt is out of sight. The only winners are the international bankers who loan to both sides in a war and then stand to collect interest on the borrowing.

All of the recent administrations have appointed key officials, who are members of the Council on Foreign Relations or the Trilateral Commission, to positions controlling defense and foreign affairs. In addition, most of the other people in these departments who do not belong to these 2 groups share the same internationalist philosophy.

Garet Garrett, in his "Rise of Empire," pointed out the signs of this transition to an empire.

1 The executive power of the government shall become dominant.

2 Domestic policy becomes subordinate to foreign policy.

3 Ascendancy of the military mind at last reaches a point where the civilian mind is intimidated.

4 A system of satellite nations is created.

5 A complex of vaunting (display of power), coupled with fear--fear of other nations, fear of standing alone, fear of "world opinion" prevails.

Doesn't this resemble our country today? The executive branch is all powerful making international agreements not approved by congress. A rubber stamp is placed on many instances of foreign aid, which never appear in the budget.

The late H.R. Gross, Representative from Iowa stated: "It is time to stop pursuing illusions and one of them is the illusion that this nation can police and finance the world."

9/13/98