Now come on all you strong young men Uncle Sam needs your help again....
("Fixing-to-Die Rag," Country Joe and the Fish)

"Whole, vast entire sections of the world have gone uncovered or un-followed by the American public as a result of [impeachment news]," says the dean of a journalism school in the 17 February Chicago Tribune, "...whole continents have been ignored."

What have we missed?

Just the imminent U.S./NATO military seizure of Kosovo, near-daily assaults on Iraqi air defenses, plans to invade north Korea, calls to reinstate the draft, and U.S. presidential proposals to establish a domestic military command, to construct anti-ballistic missile system giving the U.S. first-nuclear-strike capability, and to greatly boost military spending.

Only a few little things.

But since another leading analyst in the same Tribune article tells us "there will be this [post-impeachment] tidal wave of news," maybe we should take a look.

ITEM: Washington has launched a serious offensive to put ethnically-Albanian Kosovo under its direct rule. Under Washington's plan Yugoslavian forces (controlled by the murderous Serb, Slobodan Milosevic) would be removed from the province, Kosovar rebels disarmed -- and both be replaced by some 28,000 U.S.-led troops.

That's what's underway at the current "peace negotiations" in France between Serbian and Kosovar belligerents -- negotiations forcibly convened by Washington.

Sit at the table, the U.S. told Belgrade, or face American air forces.

Sit at the table, the U.S. told Kosovo, or America's cat's paw--Milosevic--and his well-proven butchers.

On the table is one thing: turning Kosovo into--as the State Department has put it--a "protectorate" (a word from colonial times defined as "a territory controlled by a strong foreign state.")

German troops joining the occupying forces will represent the first foreign military deployment by Berlin since Hitler.

ITEM: Bombardment of Iraqi air defenses by the U.S. and Britain has become a near-daily event. "A Pentagon spokesmen," reports the 12 February Chicago Tribune, "said U.S. forces have had a 'grave impact' on Iraq's integrated air defense system...."

In fact the bombings--classic pre-invasion "softening up"--have become so routine that they^̉re only casually reported -- and blithely presented as "self-defense." (Imagine Iraqi jets attacking "provocative" military bases in the U.S. ending up as a page 12 news brief . . . .)

ITEM: "A new war plan calls for American and South Korean troops to overrun North Korea," according to a well-documented report in the 3 December Far Eastern Economic Review.

While both the Dow-Jones publication and the U.S. military claim the invasion would only follow an attack by north Korea, its scope clearly puts it beyond self-defense: "Under the plan, American and South Korean troops would ... drive the invaders back into North Korea, capture Pyongyang, demolish its army and destroy the regime of Kim Jong Il. North Korea would then be 'reorganized' under South Korean control, a U.S. official said."

ITEM: War department secretary William Cohen announced U.S. intentions to add $7 billion to the $55 billion already spent to build a "Star Wars" missile defense system at a 21 January news conference. Implementation would unilaterally cancel the Russian/American Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

Technological advances since the days of Reagan's Star Wars initiative may have now made the program realizable. U.S. armed forces announced at the same press conference that they "are very confident we're going to have a working system and we're going to have it soon."

The long-sought missile defense system would effectively neutralize Russian and Chinese nuclear weapons, giving the U.S. true nuclear superiority -- and first-strike capability.

ITEM: President Clinton has proposed the greatest expansion of the U.S. military budget since the days of Ronald Reagan, despite the subsequent demise of the Soviet "evil empire."

The projected increase will total $110 billion over six years, although it is reportedly likely to reach $150 billion. Leaders of the Republican-controlled Congress have called the increases "inadequate."

ITEM: At the same time, Clinton called for the establishment of a domestic military command, at the cost of nearly $3 billion. Such a new command would put in place a permanent structure for internal military deployment--only against "terrorism," mind you--an event Clinton envisioned as likely in the "next few years."

ITEM: An article in the 7 February Sunday New York Times asks "isn't it time...to think about bringing back the draft?" Seems the U.S. military is "short-handed" and faces a "personnel crisis."

Now the Army Times has called for re-instating conscription, reports the "Week in Review" article, and "the idea of reviving the draft has gained new currency...."

Take it from Zbigniew Brezinski--a leading figure in the "national security" apparatus--in his nationally-syndicated 17 February column: "[because of] democracy, the country is reluctant to undertake excessive burdens, to shed too much blood, to make the kind of sacrifices necessary to exercise a dominant assertive security leadership role. This [is a] problem . . . . Global turbulence...requires...the crushing application of American power when confronted by the challenges of Slobodan Milosevic, or Saddam Hussein, or, before long, Kim Jong II."

Did somebody say the planet needs the crushing application of American power -- an undertaking demanding blood and sacrifice?

Hey, maybe we did miss some things during impeachment. But it sounds like we'll be hearing more.

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