Consider this.
Security Grants Still Streaming to Rural States
One of the nation's least populous states, Alaska is flush with domestic security grants, on a per-resident basis second only to Wyoming and about three times the amount allocated to New York over the past two years...
While there is consensus that the threat of an attack should supersede politics as usual, the billions of federal dollars for terrorism preparedness are being doled out to states in much the same way as money for schools, bridges and other routine federal projects.
No, it's not really ALL Bush's fault. But where's the vaunted "leadership" to ensure that the most vulnerable areas of our "homeland" (I hate that word) are kept safe? I mean, he can certainly pressure Congress about all sorts of other stuff...
Now this next story IS all Bush's fault. Why the hell would we invade Iraq because we were worried about WMDs and then not ensure that whatever they had wouldn't fall into the wrong hands?
Nuclear equipment vanishes in Iraq
Nuclear equipment - and in some cases whole buildings - have vanished in Iraq, the UN’s nuclear watchdog is warning, amid fears that the material could be used to make nuclear weapons.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has raised concerns “about the widespread and apparently systematic dismantlement that has taken place at sites previously relevant to Iraq’s nuclear programme”, since coalition forces wrested power from Saddam Hussein.
Satellite imagery has revealed the disappearance of entire buildings which housed high-precision, "dual use" equipment, as well as the removal of materials from open storage areas, warned Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the IAEA, in a letter to the UN Security Council on 1 October. Dual use equipment has commercial uses but could also be harnessed to manufacture nuclear arms.
Their disappearance, along with materials such as high-strength aluminium “may be of [nuclear] proliferation significance”, says ElBaradei.
Did you hear about this?
Mundra port authorities in Kutch district of Gujarat have stalled 15 containers that came from Iran onboard a ship after some "explosive material" was recovered from one of them during inspection by customs officers.
Each year, 9 million containers arrive at the nation's 361 seaports, filled with goods from around the world. But only about 5% are inspected for weapons or deadly agents.
It's really, really scary. And for some reason, all too many people in this country think Bush will bring a solution to these problems. Well, he's had three-plus years to try, and he's failed miserably. Why should more people have to die to highlight just how true this is? I don't care how charming he can be or how many people he prays with. The president isn't supposed to be your pal. He's just supposed to do his job. This one has not.
