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If We Can't Pay Our Medical Bills, Have The Terrorists Won?

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BY VICTOR KAMBER

Published: October 22, 2007

'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!' was a proud moment in American history. Standing alongside the Berlin wall that divided east and west Germans, President Ronald Reagan demanded it be removed.

Eventually it was. America won the old-fashioned way - by spending the Soviet Union into bankruptcy in the decades-long Cold War arms race.

Now Osama bin Laden is doing the same to us. America is spending $15 billion a month in Iraq to wage a mistaken war that is a recruiting bazaar for al-Qaida terrorists. Somewhere in a well-stocked cave in ally Pakistan, bin Laden must be laughing his turban off.

Our national debt is exploding. Today it stands at more than $9 trillion, a 56 percent increase under President Bush. That's $29,728 for every man, woman and child in our nation. As Comptroller General David Walker has warned: 'Continuing on the unsustainable fiscal path will gradually erode, if not suddenly damage, our economy, our standard of living and ultimately our national security.'

I don't know whether Gorbachev had a comptroller general to provide advance notice of imminent bankruptcy that overspending brings, but President Bush has had a number of warning signs thrust in his path and he continues to put the pedal to the metal.

If spending in Iraq means America can't afford health care for our children or infrastructure maintenance to keep our bridges from falling down, then the terrorists have won.

Victor Kamber is a political consultant who has worked in more than 100 political races.

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