Cato Institute
1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001-5403
Phone (202) 842 0200
Fax (202) 842 3490
 Contact Us
Support Cato

Cato Daily Dispatch for December 18, 2001

Rumsfeld: NATO Should Pull Out of Bosnia
Congress Stuffs Special Interest Stockings
Putin Warns U.S. on Iraq

Rumsfeld: NATO Should Pull Out of Bosnia

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld called today for a reduction of the 18,000 NATO peacekeeping troops in Bosnia "by at least 6,000" not later than next year, according to Reuters.

Washington, which is fielding some 3,100 of the mostly European peacekeepers, has reiterated recently its mantra of "in together-out together."

But diplomats said Rumsfeld appeared to be pushing the pace of a wind-down to help release military resources for the U.S.-led campaign against international terrorism. Rumsfeld said there was a time when military forces would declare victory and go home after accomplishing missions.

In "Bosnia Mission Weakens U.S. Military," foreign policy analyst Gary Dempsey finds that over the past decade, the U.S. Army has been used in 29 significant overseas operations, compared with 10 during the preceding 40 years. The strain of that pace has had a negative impact on readiness and morale. The Cato Handbook for Congress recommends that the United States initiate a comprehensive review of existing U.S. security commitments and jettison those that are not clearly linked to vital national security interests. It should also review the defense budget and make the necessary reductions to bring it in line with a security strategy based on the defense of vital national security interests and non-interventionism.

Congress Stuffs Special Interest Stockings

Congress is dispensing last-minute legislative favors before it adjourns for the year, and lobbyists for special interests have lined up with a long list of requests, some of which raise major questions about the proper role of government, according to The New York Times.

Flight schools, skydiving companies, manufacturers of small aircraft, and operators of small airports are seeking a $7.5 billion package of grants and loans to compensate them for business lost since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. A House subcommittee approved the legislation, the General Aviation Reparations Act, last week.

Shipbuilders, having just won an increase in the federal subsidies that President Bush tried to abolish, are now asking Congress to defer income taxes they owe on payments for the building of Navy ships.

Not every proposal will become law, but some have been enacted and others are well on their way.

In "Against Politics As Usual," Cato scholar John Samples warns against special interest politics in the wake of the terrorist attacks. "As the aftershocks of September 11 spread through the economy - which may have been headed for a recession prior to the attacks - we should expect that other claimants to public largesse will show up on Capitol Hill. Some, like the airlines, may be partially justified. Most will not. More than a few interest groups may conclude that the attacks have created an opportunity to win special favors. If they succeed, others will follow, a remorseless logic that creates a stampede."

Putin Warns U.S. on Iraq

President Vladimir Putin cautioned the United States against attacking Iraq once the war in Afghanistan draws to a close, saying in an interview published today that he expects to be consulted before the U.S. anti-terrorism campaign is expanded to other nations, according to The Washington Post.

Although Bush administration officials have openly discussed the possibility that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein may be the next target in the war on terrorism, Putin said he has seen no evidence that Iraq finances terrorists. He also said in the interview, with London's Financial Times newspaper, he does not believe that previous U.S. strikes have destroyed any sites where Iraq might be producing nuclear or biological weapons.

In "U.S. Should Refrain from Attacking Iraq," Cato Chairman William Niskanen outlines why the U.S. should not attack Iraq "unless it presents evidence, at least credible enough for Tony Blair, that Saddam helped finance, organize, or implement the Sept. 11 attacks or that he has supplied weapons of mass destruction to a terrorist group." Last week, Niskanen debated former CIA Director James Woolsey on the issue. Video of the forum "Should the United States Go To War against Iraq?" is available online.