This surely must be a difficult time for many traditional conservatives in the US Congress. It is so because some of the core values that motivate most of the people on the right side of the American political spectrum are in conflict --- most conservatives are for lower taxes and government spending on the one hand, but for a stronger national defense and enhanced national security on the other. It's a contradiction that the Republicans had a hard time resolving in the Reagan administration, when they succeeded in lowering taxes and went on a wild arms spending spree but were unable to cut spending on other government programs, which left the country deeply in debt. In many state and local governments, there have been similar problems for politicians of both major parties, whose promises to hire more cops and imprison more people have proven too expensive to carry out and still keep other promises to cut taxes.

Now the United States finds itself in a conflict with Al Qaeda, a criminal network of religious fanatics that's dispersed in cells around the world. Though Mr. bin Laden and his friends no longer control the government of Afghanistan, they are by no means decisively defeated. They can strike back at the United States at any time and in many places.

And thus a new spending program, one for billions of dollars to build dozens of new US embassies around the world, has come before the US Congress. Senators and representatives who favor smaller and less expensive government have their qualms about approving the measure, which includes $145 million for a new US Embassy in Panama.

It can be truthfully said that Panama's a relatively peaceful place. That also could have been said about Kenya and Tanzania, which did not prevent Al Qaeda from staging devastating truck bomb attacks on the US embassies there.

A cursory look at the American Embassy in Panama City reveals its terrible vulnerability. Despite the enhanced guard and the extra barriers, the building is simply too close to public streets to be well protected from truck bombs. For the safety of those who work inside, and for people who might find themselves in the wrong place if someone decides to mount an attack, the embassy here needs to be replaced.

Despite reasonable concerns about the cost, the US Congress should approve the proposed embassy construction program. We hope that we won't see any terrorist attacks in Panama, but we must also understand that the best way to realize those hopes is to be better prepared than we now are.

For every prohibition you create you also create an underground.

Jello Biafra

Sanity is a cozy lie.

Susan Sontag

The game of life is not so much in holding a good hand as playing a poor hand well.

H.T. Leslie

© 2002 by The Panama News All Rights Reserved For information or problems with this page contact: editor@ThePanamaNews.com
News Business Editorial Opinion Letters Arts Reviews Community Fun Travel Galleries Calendar Outdoors Dining Science Sports Español Archive Front Page