Another Cold War Lesson

"The MIG-25 incident suggested that U.S. officials may have overestimated the Soviet threat in order to push for even higher American defense spending."

"When the Soviets first put the MIG-25 (known as the Foxbat) into production in the 1960s, U.S. officials became nearly hysterical. The new plane, they claimed, was the fastest, most advanced, and most destructive interceptor jet ever built. Its debut, they argued, meant that the United States was falling dangerously behind in the race to control the skies. "

The wool was being pulled over the voters' eyes by the propaganda machine of the military/industrial complex (M/IC). Nixon had been driven from office but he was just a bit player on a stage where history's soap opera is played out. I would have used the term "character actor" but it seems perverse to use "character" in the same sentence with Nixon. The real power was wielded from the corporate offices; from the shadows by shady men who were never elected by we the people - who have had to fund the corruption.
Reagan's Star Wars program is still alive, billions of dollars are being misspent on outlandish programs that will never make us safe from the real dangers that people are facing. Bush wants to keep funding Star Wars because it benefits his constituency in the M/IC. The environmental element that made New Orleans a partly man-made catastrophe is another area in which Bush League policies have exacerbated the problem. By continuing to deny our effect on the environment, the administration ignored the need to replenish the coastal marshes of Louisiana. Bush is an oil man. He has in the past and probably continues to profit from high oil prices Though not openly stated, the neo-cons motto seems to be: "Billions for offense but not one dime for the middle class."