CURRENT UPDATES: February 1, 2006

Dear Friends,

All the best,

Bill Hartung
Frida Berrigan

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MISSILE DEFENSE: THE HIDDEN COSTS

William D. Hartung, Senior Research Fellow, World Policy Institute;
Tel. 212-229-5808, ext. 4257; e-mail hartung@newschool.edu

"The president finally spoke about the multi-billion dollar U.S. missile defense program last night. But it was President Vladimir Putin of Russia, reporting on a new warhead designed to penetrate the U.S. system.

By contrast, President Bush was silent about the Pentagon's most expensive weapons program in last night's State of the Union Address. The president's reticence is understandable. Spending on missile defense projects has doubled during the Bush presidency, from $4.2 billion in 2000 to $8.8 billion now, with precious little to show for
it. The last three tests of the ground-based element of the system have failed miserably. In two tests the interceptor missile couldn't even get out of its silo.

Even if it could be made to work - a dubious proposition -- missile defense has no relevance to fighting terrorism. The billions lavished on missile defense could be much better spent on protecting U.S. ports and chemical plants, or on increased investments in locking down loose
nuclear weapons and nuclear bomb-making materials in Russia and beyond."

For more on this topic, see "Tangled Web 2005: A Profile of the Missile Defense and Space Weapons Lobbies," at http://www.worldpolicy.org/projects/arms/reports/tangledweb.html.

NO END IN SIGHT: Bush on Iraq

Frida Berrigan , Research Associate, World Policy Institute; Tel. 212-229-5808, ext. 4254; e-mail berrigaf@newschool.edu

Nothing highlights the chasm between the rosy picture that President George W. Bush tried to paint in the State of the Union last night and the sober reality of ongoing war in Iraq like these two quotes:

"2,245 Dead. How many more?"

"My fellow citizens, we are in this fight to win, and we are winning."

Gold Star mother Cindy Sheehan, an invited guest at the State of the Union, was arrested for wearing a t-shirt that asked "2,245 Dead. How many more?" about deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. President Bush never saw her or her t-shirt; she was out of the building before he ever
ascended the podium. Last night, President Bush offered nothing new that would answer Sheehan's question, or the heart-broken questions of so many other bereaved family members who have lost sons and daughters in the war.

In light of recent news headlines like: "Stop-Loss Used to Retain 50,000 US Troops," "Report: Army Near Breaking Point," "Nearly Half of Iraqis Support Attacks on U.S. troops," and "Most Iraqis Doubt U.S. Will Ever Leave," the President's shopworn phrases about a "clear plan for victory" and "progress on the ground" in Iraq sounded tattered and tired.

At the end of the day, it is not empty rhetoric that matters, its how these policies, promises, and platitudes impact the United States and the world. In his speech, President Bush recommitted to endless war, and we have to do more than nod our heads in response.