>But if all of these be ingredients, there is no doubt that 9/11 was the
>significant catalyst, despite its coming more than a year after several of
>these economic and financial trends experienced their peaks. In the
>aftermath of 9/11 it became apparent to George Bush and the Washington
>defense establishment that future conflict would perhaps be not only near
>perpetual, but of a nature quite different from Desert Storm over a decade
>ago. While the eradication of Iraq from Kuwait was a single purpose
>conflict, today's potential invasion of Iraq is but one of a multitude of
>steps that hopefully leads to terrorist containment as opposed to the
>eradication of Islamic extremism. Bush has in no uncertain terms said that
>our future struggle will be a never-ending story as opposed to a single
>shot kill. If so, investors must know that perpetual containment entails
>costs - not just monetary but those involving potential policy reversals
>that have formed the backbone of America's economic hegemony for nearly
>seven decades.
Interesting and IMO valid argument about the USA's inter-relationship of economic and political vulnerability.
The USA eventually will need some softening European influences on its hegemonic strategy if only for financial reasons. It is about the costs of managing risk.
Chris Burford London
BTW Doug if any other list subscriber is concerned about the length of time downloading and tends to read the web, I have found the digest quicker to download. Whether that is because of how the viral checking software works, I do not know. Thanks.