AUT: questions

["Nate Holdren" <nateholdren@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all-
I've got a few questions I'm hoping people here could help me with. I'm
trying make sense of this whole war situation and there's a few things I
don't know. Sorry to use autopsy for this, but none of my friends ave been
able to answer these questions either.

First- THe justification being used for the war drive is Iraq's alleged
noncompliance with some UN Security Council resolution, I forget the number.
Does anyone know what would constitute Iraq successfully complying with the
resolution? I've not been able to find that out, and none of my friends have
either.

Second- Another justification Bush etc have tried using is a supposed link
between the Iraqi government and Al Qaida. I know very little about middle
east politics, but I was under the impression that Al Qaida were/are hostile
to Iraq's government and its ruling party for religious reasons or some such
thing. Can anyone give me a brief explanation of this? And would anyone with
more knowledge of this area care to make some informed speculation on the
impact war would have on future relations between the Iraqi government and
Al Qaida? My guess is that the threat of complete destruction would make
Iraq's government more willing to consider having a relationship with Al
Qaida.

Last- One of the things we've been facing here in the US is continued
erosion of 'welfare' programs. In 2002 my state, Illinois, cut 350 million
dollars from the Medicaid program, a health program for the very poor that
pays for healthcare provided by a public or private medical clinic or
hospital. The reason given was a shortfall of the state budget. As the US
government gears up for war even more funds will be diverted away from
needed programs and the trend of cutting services will accelerate.
My question is this - what will the impact on the economy be of cutting
services? I realize that the main concern is the human cost of this, but I'm
interested to know what this will mean on the terms of mainstream or
government economists. I don't know much about economics but my guess is
that cutting this program will first reduce revenue to state and private
facilities that served Medicaid recipients. Second, many of the people who
were dependent on Medicaid to finance their healthcare will be forced (after
their health deteriorates) to resort to emergency rooms and free clinics,
which will also impact public and private budgets. Does this line of
reasoning seem sensible? If so, does this mean that even on their own terms
the government's response to present conditions will fail? (ie, 'the
economy' generally will be harmed not benefited.)

Any input is much appreciated.

Nate

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