By Anthony Ogorek
Buffalo, NY – Ever since the bombing of the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, most Americans have been under the impression that the intent of Muslim terrorists is to disrupt our way of life by taking down high value targets such as signature buildings in our major cities. Unfortunately, the terrorist's goal is much more sinister; to not only destroy our economy which is the underpinning of America's military might, but to spread economic chaos worldwide, by bombing targets such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
Newly uncovered intercepts indicate that terrorists, led by Osama bin Laden, are acutely aware of the iconic value of targets as landmarks, as well as the economic cost to the nation of the destruction of these targets. They are conscious of the federal budget deficits that the war on terrorism is generating, as well as the staggering cost to the nation that the destruction of the twin towers in New York precipitated.
In his farewell address to the nation, in January of 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower spoke of the unwarranted influence of a military - industrial complex that annually spend(s) on military security more than the net income of all United States corporations.
Just as Ronald Reagan brought down the Soviet Union by outspending the last President of the U.S.S.R., Mikhail Gorbachev, on defense initiatives which ultimately led to the implosion of the Evil Empire, so too the terrorists are trying to weaken our economy by creating the need for a massive response to the terror threat. This has taken the form of large budget deficits at the local and national levels, corporate profits diverted to security issues rather than the development of innovative products and services, as well as the impairment of consumer confidence which accounts for two-thirds of our economic output.
On the horizon, we expect that the threat of terror will be employed as a foreign policy tool. Just as the terrorists have promised to halt attacks in countries that pull their troops out of Iraq, it is not a stretch to imagine them threatening hostilities in countries that do not agree to withhold trade with the U.S. in the future.
The investment implications for this new age of global terrorism are difficult to discern with any appreciable degree of clarity. It would seem that the soaring price of oil has created a significant drag on job creation as well as worldwide economic growth. Financial markets abhor uncertainty. Due to a lack of precedent, it can be argued that terrorism is the ultimate uncertainty for financial markets.
There is a ray of hope in this otherwise dismal world view. The possibility exists that global cooperation may grow under the threat of terrorism in a way that it could not during the age of prosperity. If the civilized world can rally around a common enemy and a plan for survival, then the age of terrorism may ultimately usher in a future of unparalleled cooperation as well as global economic prosperity. It would be ironic if the threat of common destruction was the ultimate impetus for the world community to begin to act for the common good, rather than traditional parochial interests.
It is indeed paradoxical that at the zenith of America's economic and financial power, its future prosperity will depend less on intimidating rogue states with the most powerful military the world has ever seen, and more on America's ability to share intelligence, as well as economic development initiatives, with these same states that may have aided and abetted terrorists in the past.
Commentator Anthony Ogorek is principal of Ogorek Wealth Management in Williamsville.