Fantastic retro-spective on the rise and fall of not the most influencial, but easily the most consequential man of our young century.
You noted that CNN stated that U.S. helicopters would not have the range to reach Abbottabad unless they originated from Pakistan. That does not appear to be the case. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk +
The combat radius for a Blackhawk helicopter is about 368 miles with auxillary fuel tanks, which put Abbottabad within striking distacne from the Afghan border. That being said, I don't think the military has confirmed what helicopters were used in the operation. When/if they do, it will be quite simple to determine the operational range.
Of course this does not account for the plainclothes agents who allegedly cordoned off the target compound.
The extent of Mr. Broder's analysis regarding war's economic stimulative affects is this:
"War and peace influence the economy. Look back at FDR and the Great Depression. What finally resolved that economic crisis? World War II."
We are having way too many, "Let's compare our current situation to WWII" moments in this nation. Maybe its because the WWII movies are so awesome. Iraq, Iran and North Korea made up a new Axis power according to the George W. Bush Administration. Terrorists movements like AQ, are not simply religious fundamentalists, but Islamo-"fascists" which makes them all the more Hitlerian, and more scary!
Mr. Broder seems to be having a "Today must be like WWII" moment. Little is similar to today's globally linked economy to that of post-WWII. Essentially, the industrial infrastructure of all the industrialized nations of the world, except that of the United States, was destroyed in the war. Germany's major cities were destroyed by Allied bombing or captured by the Soviets. Japan's major cities were burned by Allied incendiary bombing. Great Britain, as Dr. Cole pointed out, was economically crippled as well.
The U.S. was able to "bounce back" from the Great Depression because the rest of the world had no place else to shop, and they had to start rebuidling their shattered nations. Our factories were not bombed. The U.S. suffered approximately 418,000 casualties. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties. Not a paltry sum, but compared to the total population of the other combatants, we came out of the war relatively unscathed, as did our industrial capacity. The U.S. was able to get out of the Great Depression because the rest of the world had to buy our bulldozers, the had to buy our automobiles, they had to import all of our products because we were the only nation capable of production at the time. Further, our political system remained stable, and we did not undergo any serious political upheaval, like Britain or France, nor did we undergo complete regime change like Germany or Japan. How else could the U.S. afford the Marshall Plan to revitalize Western Europe.
Remember when policy wonks were advocating a Marshall Plan for post-Saddam Iraq? http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jan/15/world/fg-aid15. This idea faded because, unlike 1947 to 1951, policy makers came to the stunning conclusion that today we are not the only functioning economic power, which would allow us to fund such an initiative.
Basically, Mr. Broder did no research and little to no critical thinking for his piece. His is more of a political analysis than an economic one. People did not re-elect G.W. Bush in 2004 because the War in Afghanistan and W.'s invasion of Iraq had really stimulated the economy. They re-elected G.W. Bush because he was at war. People rally around the flag in such times.
In fact, I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that I, an unemployed attorney with a History major, did far more research in the past 30 minutes writing this poorly planned, screed than Mr. Broder did for his.
Point to JC.
Prof. Cole:
Fantastic retro-spective on the rise and fall of not the most influencial, but easily the most consequential man of our young century.
You noted that CNN stated that U.S. helicopters would not have the range to reach Abbottabad unless they originated from Pakistan. That does not appear to be the case.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikorsky_UH-60_Black_Hawk +
The combat radius for a Blackhawk helicopter is about 368 miles with auxillary fuel tanks, which put Abbottabad within striking distacne from the Afghan border. That being said, I don't think the military has confirmed what helicopters were used in the operation. When/if they do, it will be quite simple to determine the operational range.
Of course this does not account for the plainclothes agents who allegedly cordoned off the target compound.
The extent of Mr. Broder's analysis regarding war's economic stimulative affects is this:
"War and peace influence the economy. Look back at FDR and the Great Depression. What finally resolved that economic crisis? World War II."
We are having way too many, "Let's compare our current situation to WWII" moments in this nation. Maybe its because the WWII movies are so awesome. Iraq, Iran and North Korea made up a new Axis power according to the George W. Bush Administration. Terrorists movements like AQ, are not simply religious fundamentalists, but Islamo-"fascists" which makes them all the more Hitlerian, and more scary!
Mr. Broder seems to be having a "Today must be like WWII" moment. Little is similar to today's globally linked economy to that of post-WWII. Essentially, the industrial infrastructure of all the industrialized nations of the world, except that of the United States, was destroyed in the war. Germany's major cities were destroyed by Allied bombing or captured by the Soviets. Japan's major cities were burned by Allied incendiary bombing. Great Britain, as Dr. Cole pointed out, was economically crippled as well.
The U.S. was able to "bounce back" from the Great Depression because the rest of the world had no place else to shop, and they had to start rebuidling their shattered nations. Our factories were not bombed. The U.S. suffered approximately 418,000 casualties. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II_casualties. Not a paltry sum, but compared to the total population of the other combatants, we came out of the war relatively unscathed, as did our industrial capacity. The U.S. was able to get out of the Great Depression because the rest of the world had to buy our bulldozers, the had to buy our automobiles, they had to import all of our products because we were the only nation capable of production at the time. Further, our political system remained stable, and we did not undergo any serious political upheaval, like Britain or France, nor did we undergo complete regime change like Germany or Japan. How else could the U.S. afford the Marshall Plan to revitalize Western Europe.
Remember when policy wonks were advocating a Marshall Plan for post-Saddam Iraq? http://articles.latimes.com/2006/jan/15/world/fg-aid15. This idea faded because, unlike 1947 to 1951, policy makers came to the stunning conclusion that today we are not the only functioning economic power, which would allow us to fund such an initiative.
Basically, Mr. Broder did no research and little to no critical thinking for his piece. His is more of a political analysis than an economic one. People did not re-elect G.W. Bush in 2004 because the War in Afghanistan and W.'s invasion of Iraq had really stimulated the economy. They re-elected G.W. Bush because he was at war. People rally around the flag in such times.
Also, Mr. Broder does not use our modern history to substantiate his "war is good for the economy" theory. Mr. Broder could not point all the jobs the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan created because they did not create many. See http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2009/01/09/bush-on-jobs-the-worst-track-record-on-record/. The jobs created over the Bush Admin were likely for Security Contractors and Intelligence contractors, which was highlighted from earlier, stronger reporting the Washington Post. http://projects.washingtonpost.com/top-secret-america/
In fact, I'm willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that I, an unemployed attorney with a History major, did far more research in the past 30 minutes writing this poorly planned, screed than Mr. Broder did for his.