Peace Is Possible


Smaller Government Could Hurt Terrorist Finances By Dan Litwin In the name of fighting terrorism, U.S. officials keep making government bigger and bigger. For example, they now snoop into every bank account to supposedly find terrorist money and disrupt terrorist finances. But what if smaller government could hurt terrorist finances? What if big government is part of the problem? Would today’s politicians even consider such a possibility? Let’s take a look at how big government actually enriches terrorists, what smaller government could do to defund them, and why today’s politicians ignore the dangerous reality of their actions. Here are two proposals for reductions in government that would truly devastate the terrorists’ bank accounts: Allow drugs to be sold the boring way we sell alcohol, bankrupting the drug-terrorist underworld. End US Government financing of supposed friends, like Bin Laden. Let’s examine both of these proposals in detail to see how they would take money away from terrorists and other thugs. Allowing drugs to be sold the boring way we sell alcohol Today’s model for drug distribution is anything but boring. Consider, for example, the “excitement” of Gangsta rap, “Bling, Bling”, a sky-high murder rate in the inner cities, and, of course, enormous profits for terrorist groups. For quite some time, the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) even kept this list of terrorist groups that profit from today’s illegal drug model. At one time, alcohol was also against the law. In the 1920’s, gangsters used violence to protect their territories, and became rich distributing illegal liquor. It was a truly “exciting” time – what with the likes of Al Capone, drive-by shootings, and Tommy Guns. But the gangsters’ ability to bribe police, judges and politicians combined with the violence soon convinced Americans that outlawing alcohol was like putting organized crime on steroids. Today, by any comparison, alcohol is distributed in the most unexciting way: legally. No gang profits at all. Yawn. We need to learn from our past. Allow drugs to be sold the boring way we sell alcohol. End the Federal government’s War on Drugs and allow various policies to be adopted state-by-state, just like alcohol. It won’t sell a lot of newspapers after the terrorists, gangs, and corrupt police who profit from the Drug War are bankrupt. But unless you run a newspaper, a little bit of that kind of boredom would be quite welcome. Under my proposal: Kids would find little if any drugs on street corners, just like alcohol. Drug addicts could seek help without fear of arrest, just like alcoholics. We’d all be saving the tax money currently spent on the failed Drug War. Drug profits would be going to regular non-violent businesses, just as it does with alcohol. And most of all, terrorists (and the entire underworld) would be financially devastated by a huge loss of operating capital. Allow the boring alcohol model for drugs, and put a serious dent in terrorist finances. Ending U.S. financing of supposed friends, like bin Laden. Sensible people don’t throw gasoline on a dangerous fire. But politicians from both parties do. Decade after decade, Presidents and politicians have financed our future enemies. For example, MSNBC writes that Bin Laden was essentially a CIA creation gone bad (the CIA has this problem often enough to give it a name: “blowback”). Other famous turncoats who were financed or backed by US politicians include both Saddam Hussein and the Taliban. You may be wondering how we’d identify true friends vs. potential enemies in the Middle East. But the fact is that we don’t need to know who is who. Have government finance none of them. Simply allow money to go naturally from Americans to their friends and associates abroad, with no politically motivated government aid. If there are true friends in a region, they can survive on honest trade. For example, Israel has lots of regular industry from which it can get money. And without us financing her enemies, Israel would not need our aid. It takes money to fight wars. The petty, backward players that the US has enriched in the last 50 years may have been little threat without our own tax money. By ending U.S. financing of all Middle Eastern players, we could watch violence shrink and possibilities for peace flourish. And, we’d be saving tax money, because it’s our fuel big government keeps throwing on the fire. End US financing of foreign factions, and we will directly undermine terrorist finances. It's simple: We can continue with “big government” policies that enrich terrorists and thugs. Or we can try some serious reductions in government that de-fund them: Allow drugs to be sold like alcohol, bankrupting the drug-terrorist underworld. End US Government financing of “good guys”, like Bin Laden. Considering that both policies would hurt terrorists and save us money, they should be implemented. But they’re not even being considered. Today’s politicians have proven they won’t adopt policies that shrink government no matter how good the outcome might be. Watch them. Today’s politicians will only discuss policies that expand government and their own power. Corrupt, they build their empires, forever throwing “big government” fuel on the fire, while we are the ones who continue to get burned. It’s time to gather support for organizations that are proven supporters of smaller government –meaning government that actually costs less than it used to – because smaller government really would hurt terrorist finances. Peace is possible, and will save, not cost, both lives and money right away. A project of Dan Litwin Music © 2006 Dan Litwin

Smaller Government Could Hurt Terrorist Finances

By Dan Litwin

In the name of fighting terrorism, U.S. officials keep making government bigger and bigger. For example, they now snoop into every bank account to supposedly find terrorist money and disrupt terrorist finances. But what if smaller government could hurt terrorist finances? What if big government is part of the problem? Would today’s politicians even consider such a possibility?

Let’s take a look at how big government actually enriches terrorists, what smaller government could do to defund them, and why today’s politicians ignore the dangerous reality of their actions.

Here are two proposals for reductions in government that would truly devastate the terrorists’ bank accounts:

Allow drugs to be sold the boring way we sell alcohol, bankrupting the drug-terrorist underworld.
End US Government financing of supposed friends, like Bin Laden.

Let’s examine both of these proposals in detail to see how they would take money away from terrorists and other thugs.

Allowing drugs to be sold the boring way we sell alcohol

Today’s model for drug distribution is anything but boring. Consider, for example, the “excitement” of Gangsta rap, “Bling, Bling”, a sky-high murder rate in the inner cities, and, of course, enormous profits for terrorist groups. For quite some time, the US Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) even kept this list of terrorist groups that profit from today’s illegal drug model.

At one time, alcohol was also against the law. In the 1920’s, gangsters used violence to protect their territories, and became rich distributing illegal liquor. It was a truly “exciting” time – what with the likes of Al Capone, drive-by shootings, and Tommy Guns.

But the gangsters’ ability to bribe police, judges and politicians combined with the violence soon convinced Americans that outlawing alcohol was like putting organized crime on steroids. Today, by any comparison, alcohol is distributed in the most unexciting way: legally. No gang profits at all. Yawn. We need to learn from our past. Allow drugs to be sold the boring way we sell alcohol. End the Federal government’s War on Drugs and allow various policies to be adopted state-by-state, just like alcohol.

It won’t sell a lot of newspapers after the terrorists, gangs, and corrupt police who profit from the Drug War are bankrupt. But unless you run a newspaper, a little bit of that kind of boredom would be quite welcome.

Under my proposal:

Kids would find little if any drugs on street corners, just like alcohol.
Drug addicts could seek help without fear of arrest, just like alcoholics.
We’d all be saving the tax money currently spent on the failed Drug War.
Drug profits would be going to regular non-violent businesses, just as it does with alcohol.
And most of all, terrorists (and the entire underworld) would be financially devastated by a huge loss of operating capital.

Allow the boring alcohol model for drugs, and put a serious dent in terrorist finances.

Ending U.S. financing of supposed friends, like bin Laden.

Sensible people don’t throw gasoline on a dangerous fire. But politicians from both parties do. Decade after decade, Presidents and politicians have financed our future enemies. For example, MSNBC writes that Bin Laden was essentially a CIA creation gone bad (the CIA has this problem often enough to give it a name: “blowback”). Other famous turncoats who were financed or backed by US politicians include both Saddam Hussein and the Taliban.

You may be wondering how we’d identify true friends vs. potential enemies in the Middle East. But the fact is that we don’t need to know who is who. Have government finance none of them. Simply allow money to go naturally from Americans to their friends and associates abroad, with no politically motivated government aid. If there are true friends in a region, they can survive on honest trade. For example, Israel has lots of regular industry from which it can get money. And without us financing her enemies, Israel would not need our aid.

It takes money to fight wars. The petty, backward players that the US has enriched in the last 50 years may have been little threat without our own tax money. By ending U.S. financing of all Middle Eastern players, we could watch violence shrink and possibilities for peace flourish. And, we’d be saving tax money, because it’s our fuel big government keeps throwing on the fire.

End US financing of foreign factions, and we will directly undermine terrorist finances.

It's simple:

We can continue with “big government” policies that enrich terrorists and thugs. Or we can try some serious reductions in government that de-fund them:

Allow drugs to be sold like alcohol, bankrupting the drug-terrorist underworld.
End US Government financing of “good guys”, like Bin Laden.

Considering that both policies would hurt terrorists and save us money, they should be implemented. But they’re not even being considered.

Today’s politicians have proven they won’t adopt policies that shrink government no matter how good the outcome might be. Watch them. Today’s politicians will only discuss policies that expand government and their own power. Corrupt, they build their empires, forever throwing “big government” fuel on the fire, while we are the ones who continue to get burned.

It’s time to gather support for organizations that are proven supporters of smaller government –meaning government that actually costs less than it used to – because smaller government really would hurt terrorist finances.

Peace is possible, and will save, not cost, both lives and money right away.

A project of Dan Litwin Music