Monday, December 28, 2009

It's Gonna Get Worse Before It Gets Better

Folks, think about it for a few minutes. Another inept "terrorist" attempts to bring down a US aircraft, above one of the densest populations of Muslims in the United States. Al Queda is claiming credit now. Their funding and recruitment must be suffering terribly.

And speaking of funding, where does it come from? It comes from the US, China, Russia, western Europe and all other countries who are engaged in economic relationships with countries like Saudi Arabia and others flush with oil.

All the while, industrialized nations are seeking (and finding) alternative sources of fuel, more-efficient use of oil/gasoline, and operating smarter in general. This means that funding will become even more difficult for terrorist organizations that operate from places like the Middle East.

President Obama is right in his move to increase troop levels in Afghanistan. The other major source of funding for extremists is the trade in harmful drugs coming from that nation which has a major leadership vacuum. Had the prior occupant of the oval office, along with his cronies, pursued bin Laden rather than going after the "man who shot (at) my Daddy," things might be different now. Maybe not, but maybe.

Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and others will begin swinging back to being countries with falling income and anarchy will break out. I believe this will happen in the lifespans of most people reading this post.

Now is not the time to be timid or complacent. The US must continue on its path to wean itself from dependence on foreign oil. The US must maintain a strong military. The US must drop silly rules that punish females who find themselves in combat and eject homosexuals for who they love.

Yes, things will get worse. As the oil-rich nations see wealth slipping through their fingers like sand, their desperation will turn even US allies into mercurial dictatorships hell-bent on holding on to anything possible to preserve a way of life to which they have become accustomed.

Keep the military strong. Keep working on oil alternatives. Let the terrorists kill each other, and let Allah sort them out.