Congress will soon consider another $100 billion for this year in additional war spending requested by the Bush administration. If it acquiesces, the total tab for the Iraq War will hit nearly half a trillion dollars.
As it is portrayed in the Bush administration’s new National Security Strategy doctrine, our military is a co-equal partner with our diplomatic corps, our development agency and our homeland security department. The text speaks of pursuing national security by championing aspirations for human dignity, strengthening alliances, defusing regional conflicts, and expanding development. In the section on “key national security institutions,” the Department of Defense (DOD) is third on the list.