And Now, a Return to the News...

Lately, the veteran has been off on a few philosophical tangents, as well as bringing you some personal news. The veteran hopes you have enjoyed this foray into his life and his political philosophy. Now, however, it's time for a return to news-based commentary.

A founding Neocon claims the ideology is "now in shambles" (Fukuyama, as reported by Alex Massie), and that it should be dropped as a failed experiment. Francis Fukuyama, a member of the Project for a New American Century (along with Wolfowitz, Rumsfeld, et al) pushed as far back as the Clinton administration for regime changes to autocratic nations, such as Iraq. The concept of neoconservatism, born of an altered leninist ideology, has come under massive fire during the last six years. Approval ratings for the President have stayed consistently low for well over a year now, the war in Iraq has become massively unpopular, and members of all sides of the political spectrum have resorted to massive mudslinging attacks in the absence of a definitive solution to the many problems born of this controversial political worldview.

The White House has lost much of the support it enjoyed during the early years of the administration, both from the Congress and from the public at large. Republicans in Congress, especially in the Senate, have been scrambling over the past year to distance themselves from the Bush White House and to adopt a more moderate, mainstream stance on both fiscal and social policies. Even here, in high conservative country (Johnson City, Tennessee), the veteran is seeing fewer and fewer Bush stickers and more anti-war stickers. Thankfully, the "Support the Troops" motto seems to have stuck around, as the veteran dearly loves his brothers and sisters in the Marine Corps and the other branches of the armed services (yes, even the Coasties).

In other news, the controversial sale of six East Coast ports to Dubai Ports World by the executive branch has widened the split between White House officials and the legislative branch. Amid little support from the House and the Senate, President Bush has stated that he will veto any legislation drafted to delay or block the deal. In a newer development, Bush has claimed that he had no knowledge of the agreement until after the fact, but he backs it wholeheartedly and will tolerate no dissent. Questions have arisen concerning the legality of the review process used to evaluate the coming deal, especially whether the administration was required to utilize a longer, forty-five day process instead of the twenty-five day process that occured.

While scattered reports have claimed that port security would be turned over entirely to the Dubai company, owned by the government of the United Arab Emirates, President Bush has claimed, in a new development, that customs and other security duties would still be carried out by Americans. While the veteran can clearly see the possible trade opportunities this sale would entail, he also recognizes that security will become a greater risk under this new port management. The average percentage of incoming containers screened runs at only about five percent currently, and this is simply another possible opening for a group, friendly to the government of the UAE, to infiltrate and attack U.S. soil or interests. Leaving all this aside, in the middle of a conflict marked by heavy anti-American sentiment abroad and anti-Arab feelings on domestic soil, this deal simply doesn't make sense politically. There was NO WAY that the administration didn't see the backlash coming from the populace on this one. Some reports (Google it) have gone so far as to claim this deal is the result of personal friendships between administration officials and the Dubai Ports World company. The veteran isn't sure about that, but he's certain this deal never should have come down the pipeline. What were they thinking?

Some excellent info on this controversy can be located over at the highly-controversial, entirely conservative, and very sexy blog of Michelle Malkin.