NEW STUDY TO SHOW AFGHANISTAN IN “DOWNWARD SPIRAL”

Rising Taliban influence, corruption in Hamid Karzai’s government, and increasing attacks from militants inside Pakistan are leading to a downward spiral in Afghanistan. A classified report set to be released, conveniently, after the November elections shows Afghanistan suffering from a breakdown in central authority and the inability to correct its deficiencies.

Now the Bush administration has initiated a major review of its Afghanistan policy and has decided to send additional troops to the country. The downward slide in the security situation in Afghanistan has also become an issue in the presidential campaign, along with questions about whether the White House emphasis in recent years on the war in Iraq has been misplaced.

As the battlefield quickly shifted from Afghanistan to Iraq, the search for bin Laden faded – to be replaced by Bush’s fanatical search for the now-toppled Saddam Hussein. For years, the Bush Administration focused on Iraq, duping the American people into believing that Iraq was somehow connected to 9/11.

Inside the government, reports issued by the Central Intelligence Agency for more than two years have chronicled the worsening violence and rampant corruption inside Afghanistan, and some in the agency say they believe that it has taken the White House too long to respond to the warnings.

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AIG THUMBS NOSE AT TAXPAYERS – ENJOYS LUXURIOUS RESORT VACATION ONE WEEK AFTER RECEIVING BILLIONS IN BAILOUT

The House Oversight Committee revealed that just one week after the federal government – that would be you and me – bailed out insurance giant AIG, company executives went on a retreat to a luxury resort. The executives spent nearly $500,000 on manicures, facials, pedicures, and massages, among other things.

AIG spent $200,000 dollars for hotel rooms and almost $150,000 for catered banquets. AIG spent $23,000 at the hotel spa and another $1,400 at the salon. The executives were getting manicures, facials, pedicures and massages while American people were footing the bill. They spent another $10,000 dollars for leisure dining.

Earlier in the week, Lehman Brothers CEO Richard Fuld admitted to Congress that he had taken home over $300 million since 2000. Furthermore, executives who feared for their bonuses in the company’s last months were told not to worry, even as Lehman plead for a federal bailout. Oversight Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) revealed that the board gave three departing executives over $20 million in ‘special payments’.

Ingrates! When does this stop? Is the government so controlled by big business that, contrary to those who believe the government is taking over, the government is actually subordinate to Wall Street?

I think the public has been duped – duped by the fear of a collapse. Wall Street has pulled a fast one. While genuflecting and pounding Congress with cries for help, it has managed to drain billions of taxpayer dollars to support the lifestyle to which it has always been accustomed.