ADVAilICE GUARD

ALAN OAKES publisher

An anniversary to forget - or not

As you receive our September issue, you will be reliving but by no means celebrating the anniversary of September ll. A year will have passed since that fateful day. and there remain so many questions still to be answered. Numerous documentaries have allowed us to witness the horror of that day, and of the many heroes who helped save many other lives, sometimes even at the expense of their own. I cannot imagine being in the position that any of those people found themselves in that day.

With our troops off to Afghanistan, and while we were certainly warned it would be a long haul, it appears that the planners of that day are still at large despite everything that we have thrown at them. Our lives do not feel quite the same, believing that something else so catastrophic is not only possible but in all probability in a planning stage in some cave in the middle of nowhere. We trudge through lines at airports and public events, we all but strip down when pulled from the line, we take our shoes off, we look furtively around at every passenger, and we question if life will ever be the same. Unfortunately, we all know the answer is no. Recent events in Israel and Palestine show the fragility of life and the utter hatred and contempt that fellow human beings can hold for their neighbors.

Back home, we had hoped that we could return to some normalcy, and for a time it appeared like the economy was heading in a positive direction. With federal action. the reduction of interest rates and tax rebates all kicking in, the consumer carried the economy, and as luck would have it for us in this industry, the housing market in most areas continued to react. However. it appears recently all is not well with our economy, and it appears to be in a holding pattern for now. The stock market gyrations are giving no comfort to invest.

Some in the media are beginning to question whether we as a nation are not in a crash and burn scenario, and that our time as world leader has peaked. Some would argue that empires crash and burn. As a Brit, I know that only too well, as do the Romans, French and Spanish. The continued decline back to pre-1997 levels of the stock market, and the unprecedented accounting scandals have led to tremendous uncertainty and questions about where we are heading. Many of us look forward to working until we drop as many of our 401-k's have been bled.

However, let us not all wallow in this doom and gloom scenario. While perhaps it will not be easy for a while, and we may not have reached bottom yet, I cannot imagine any other nation that could have worn the cloak of catastrophe as this nation has. Our military might is clearly more advanced than any other nation. particularly in remote-controlled weaponry. While we have not solved why some nations hate us as they do, we are still the country others look to for diplomatic leadership. Who else is there that has the financial might and resolve to solve the problems of the world even if it truly is a role we might not wish to have? Who has an economy that could withstand all that has happened in the past two years including a recession, a dot-com collapse, a major terrorist attack, accounting scandals and the like? Once-great super powers such as the Soviet Union and Great Britain are no more. Each has a part to play, but they cannot be the leader.

The biggest foreign policy issues we face are finding our allies and picking the right battles. Diplomacy, rather than acting in a vacuum, will be the key to getting Saddam Hussein out of power, if that is the direction we next choose to go in. The key domestically will be resurrecting the feeling of togetherness after September I l. Recently signs of cracking in the coalition seem to be appearing. Doublespeak and finger pointing are on the rise again. This is not what the public wants, or expects of our politicians.

This is a time for leadership and not about the next round of elections. September I I 's I 5 minutes of fame are not up.

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