$87 BILLION  (CONT)

worst health pandemic in the history of the world (HIV/AIDS)." When it comes to the military, there is neither a sense of proportion, nor of trade offs.

This state of affairs is a tribute to the military contractors and political leaders who have ridden to power by instilling fear in the populace. It can be traced in no small part to campaign contributions and lobbyist influence, but the problem runs much deeper than that. Fear has penetrated deep into the culture.

But the administration's overreach in Iraq now offers an opportunity to create a new sense of priorities. It is now even more apparent than it was before the war that Iraq posed no security threat to the United States. And the sums of money requested by the administration -- and more will be coming -- are so extraordinary that they practically demand consideration of alternative expenditures.
After all, you really can do quite a bit with $87 billion.

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