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George, Americans like to think of the United States as a democracy, not a tyranny, when in fact it has become a tyrant republic. Just because Americans vote in elections and enjoy freedom of speech, press, and worship, does not mean the Bush Administration is not trampling the liberties of other people in other lands, which is what tyrannies do. America’s current vast expansion of military power under President Bush is not only stunning but likely unrecognized by many Americans for what it is, the ascendance of the “military-industrial complex” President Eisenhower warned us about. Some examples: # The U.S. has increased its military budget under President Bush from $343-billion to $420-billion. The $442-billion it seeks for fiscal 2006 is about as much as all the rest of the world’s military spending combined. # The Pentagon is operating 700 military bases in 130 countries from Turkey to Japan. It is spreading its power in a bid for strategic influence in every quarter of the globe. # The Bush Administration is waging an aggressive war in Iraq based on lies. As many as 100,000 civilians are dead and a nation is being destroyed. # The U.S. military is illegally holding thousands of prisoners indefinitely, a tactic, by the way, Hitler used at Dachau. What’s more, Mr. Bush, who calls himself a Christian, says he will veto any bill to outlaw torture. He’s for it. # The U.S. is also the world leader in weapons sales, with close to $15-billion annually, almost as much as the rest of the world combined. # The U.S. is investing an astounding $1.5-trillion in research to create 80 new terrifying weapons systems – while it quibbles over the $600-million dues it pays to the UN to advance world peace. # The U.S., which has spent $6-trillion on nuclear arms, has 5,000 nuclear warheads in a state of readiness. The Air Force has at the ready 500 intercontinental ballistic missiles; it operates a fleet of more than 200 nuclear bombers; it deploys 480 nuclear gravity bombs at eight airbases in six NATO countries; and its Navy operates 15 Ohio-class submarines each with 24 nuclear missiles. Today, the U.S. is more powerfully armed than any nation in history. Tyrannosaurus Americanus is not exactly the vision our Founders dreamed of. We have a moral obligation to vote this Administration and its compliant Congress out of power. Sherwood Ross (electronic mail, December 6, 2005)
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