Fall of An Empire

Much of the reporting on the death of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin has emphasized his role in dismantling the Soviet Uniion, which in this country is considered by many to be the signal achievement of Saint Ronald the Great. According to American Triumphalists, Saint Ronald bankrupted the Soviet Union by forcing its teetering economy to match increased US military spending. Saint Ronald also bled the Soviets in Afghanistan by supporting the resistance to Soviet Occupation. According to this line of thought, Yeltsin's reforms were the direct result of American policy.

Thinking about those days and America's present situation--bogged down in a seemingly endless war, piling up record deficits in order to maintain a world wide military presence and decaying infrastructure here at home--I begin to feel a little uneasy when I recall that Al-Qaeda's strategy is to bleed America into bankruptcy. I don't think the US is quite as politically or economically vulnerable as the former Soviet Uniton but the high costs of our military crusades certainly seem to fit within Al-Qaeda's strategy.

Maybe I'm just thinking too much these days. I should go watch some television.