It's Hard!

Governing, as always, is hard work. Too hard, in fact, for neocons. The hard-pressed GAO, an arm of Congress tasked with identifying the millions of holes which represent the sponge-like texture of neocon governance, has gotten around to looking at our efforts to curb terrorist financing in other countries. Specifically, they looked at all the things we're not doing - like curbing terrorist financing in other countries.

The reasons are generally the same as the reasons the Junta fails in everything they do. First, a complete void in leadership. State and Treasury department officials can't get their act together. They seem to require some "direction" or "leadership" from some,one like, I don't know, maybe an executive? Maybe, if the departments were led by people with any qualifications other than Junta loyalty, something might get done.

"Investigators found clear tensions between officials at State, Treasury, Justice
and other departments.

One unidentified Treasury official quoted anonymously in the report said that the intergovernmental process for deterring terrorist financing abroad is "broken" and that the State Department "creates obstacles rather than coordinates effort." A State Department official countered that the real problem lies in the Treasury
Department's reluctance to accept the State Department's leadership in the process."

Of course, where there's a Junta initiative, there's private industry taking cash and making a hash out of the whole thing:

"In another problem area, private contractors used by the Treasury Department and other agencies have been allowed to draft proposed laws in foreign countries for curbing terrorist financing, even though Justice Department officials voiced strong concerns that contractors should not be allowed to play such an active role in the legislative process.

The contractors' work at times produced legislative proposals that had "substantial deficiencies," the report said."

Hey - the only real "deficiency" would be if their checks didn't clear!

What's the solution? Get together? Make the process work? Consult experts? Don't be insulting. The only solution that the Junta ever uses is the one that fits all cases: deny.

"No interagency process is without flaws," the State Department said in its official response. But it said "there is much evidence" that the working group set up by the administration to combat terrorist financing "is one of the most successful examples of interagency cooperation."

Hey, guy! We're doing great! Why would you think, just because an audit shows that we're a dismal failure, that we're not an outstanding success? We're bringing terrorists out of their hiding places by making sure they have lots of money.

Here we are, more than four years after 9/11, and our terror president can't even get this part right. Is there something these guys can do right? Maybe Georgie should build a model airplane at the podium for the next State of the Union. If he could fly it over Congress, Americans could go to be sure, for the first time, that there is something he can do.

But that's asking way too much.