There's a long tradition of tyrants and despots who stashed money and bought villas outside the borders of the country they were terrorizing. Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, who looted and strong-armed the Philippines for decades, had their Hawaii getaway. Idi Amin, the butcher of Uganda, was never tried and imprisoned for his crimes against his people, but instead spent 20 years living luxuriously in Saudi Arabia. Jean-Claude ("Baby Doc") Duvalier hasn't gone to prison yet either, though his wealthy playboy lifestyle in French Cote d'Azur seems to have been ended by a rancorous and expensive divorce.

But the United States is no banana republic. Surely its leaders, especially those who send other Americans off to war, would never contemplate profiting personally from their decisions or evading responsiblity for their mistakes. Well, think again. America's neocon leaders have been busy covering their asse(t)s in case their policies of endless war and raping the American economy produce too much blowback.

Learn who's doing what after the break.

NeoCon Continental

For all the contempt that the NeoCons shower upon "Old Europe," they sure seem to find it a good place to invest and even live. Vice-President Cheney likes to tout how great the American economy is, but he and his wife Lynne don't have much confidence in the dollar. Kiplinger Reports took a close look at the Cheney's financial disclosure report recently, and found that the Second Couple is betting against the U. S. economy. The biggest chunk of their estimated $96 million in change is bet on a fund that specializes in predominately European bonds and had only 6% of its assets in dollar-based investments when Kiplinger took a look. (Warren Buffett , no NeoCon, but known for his financial acumen, is doing the same.)

How nice for them. If the Vice-President's relentless push for a new war against Iran succeeds, and oil prices skyrocket to two or three times the previous record, with a resulting collapse of the dollar, it won't be the Cheneys who suffer.

NeoCon Al Dente

Joining Cheney in his push for yet another war is charter NeoConner Michael Ledeen. He's co-founder of the "Coalition for Democracy in Iran" that lobbies for regime change in Tehran, and he has joined fellow NeoCon Bill Kristol in criticizing the Bush Administration recently for not attacking Iran and Syria.

Ledeen is a real man of the world. He's reputed to have served often as a liaison between the Israelis and the U. S., but his first love seems to be Italy. He's been fascinated by Italian fascism, and reports connect him with neo-fascist movements in Italy like P2, though he denies it. He lived in Italy as a reporter for The New Republic in the 70s, and has continued to go there for extended stays ever since, most recently to research a book he's writing about Naples. Many have suggested that he was the American connection in the Niger uranium disinformation campaign because of his relationship with Italian intelligence, the original source of the forged documents.

Ledeen, considered to be the most radical of the NeoCons, is most notorious for his advocacy of "creative destruction" of which Iraq serves as a "shining" example. What if that "creative destruction" spreads out of control to the United States? Don't worry yourself about Ledeen. He speaks fluent Italian and has a villa in the hills near Rome .

NeoCon KosherStyle

He was called the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Fiascos when he was at the Pentagon because of the way everything he touched turned to--well, you know. He's been involved in everything from the infamous Office of Special Plans to Abu Ghraib to the Franklin spy scandal. Tommy Franks called him, "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth."

Things may not work out so well for the public interest when Feith is in charge, but he's not so dumb when it comes to taking care of himself and his friends. After leaving the employ of the Defense Department where he had worked under Richard Perle during the Reagan administration, Feith formed a law partnership with Marc Zell with a focus on representing companies in the military-industrial complex who wanted to do more business with Washington. Feith & Zell weren't content with limiting their practice to the U. S. They merged with an Israeli firm to form FANDZ, an enterprise that touted its access to Defense Department officials after Bush II appointed Feith as third in command at the Pentagon. Shortly thereafter, FANDZ hooked up with Salem Chalabi, son of long-time Feith friend, Ahmed Chalabi.

If justice ever came visiting in Washington, Feith might have reason to worry because of pal Chalabi's double-agenting, subordinate Larry Franklin's spying or Feith's own intelligence cooking in the runup to Iraq, but in the unlikely event that there's ever the threat of an indictment, Feith has it covered. He took good care of his friends at his old law firm FANDZ, and they are able to offer him lots of options when it comes to locations outside the U. S.:

Since 9/11, Zell, Goldberg has become a leader in the newly emerging field of international security and anti-terrorism law, in conjunction with its Washington, D.C. office, and through its affiliate company FIST (Federal Israel Security Technologies LLC).

Through its Moscow office and its Israel-based Russia-CIS practice group, the firm has gained extensive experience in what is becoming one of the world's most promising regional markets.

Zell, Goldberg maintains a comprehensive network of correspondent relationships with quality business and tax law firms throughout the world with special emphasis on Europe (Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe and the CIS) and the Far East (China, Japan and South Korea).

NeoCon à la Mode

The NeoCon's "Prince of Darkness " is Richard Perle. He's been a key member of both the Committee on the Present Danger and the Project for a New American Century. As chariman of the Defense Policy Board, he was one of the most influential backers of the Iraq war.

Perle has no fear when it comes to attacking opponents of the policies he advocates. When the French were skeptical about the need for an immediate assault on Saddam in 2003, Perle was furious at one of America's oldest allies:

France is no longer an ally of the United States and the NATO alliance "must develop a strategy to contain our erstwhile ally or we will not be talking about a NATO alliance" the head of the Pentagon's top advisory board said in Washington Tuesday.

What a way to talk about your neighbors! It turns out that not only peaceniks like Alec Baldwin and George Clooney seek refuge in France, but also NeoCons like Richard Perle who feel it's prudent to cover their asse(t)s by buying a villa in Provence .

What's Cookin'?

When you see the president of the bank headed out the door with one hand holding a satchel full of cash and the other his family pictures, it might be time to make a withdrawal yourself. If you hear your town's mayor has put his house up for sale, it may be time to unload your place as well.

The NeoCons claim their policies of endless war and huge deficits are going to preserve the "American way of life," but their personal actions must make anyone wonder whether they believe what they're telling the American people. If their policies sink the U. S., don't expect them to go down with the ship. They'll be enjoying the safety and stability of Europe where they're now stashing money and buying houses.

Maybe it's time you began to cover your asse(t)s.

C) 2006 Shelter from the Storm:

America's foreign military sales (FMS) for the whole of this year are expected to reach a level not seen since 1993 and the end of the first Gulf War.

An investigation by The Times has uncovered a number of reasons for the surge in arms trade, including the Bush Administration's determination to gather support for its War on Terror. However, it is important to note that defence deals agreed with the US Government often change and the values cited can drop, or be officially accounted for, in subsequent years.

Also, defence contracts with foreign governments can take many years to conclude and one of the reasons for the surge in FMS during 2006 is that a number of big deals have come to completion.

Yet the orders being sent to Congress for ratification have increased this year and there are a number of domestic and international factors driving this, including the War on Terror.

In June the Bush Administration used the war against terrorism as justification for its sale to Pakistan of 36 F16 fighter jets, and an upgrade to 60 more aircraft, in a $4.5 billion deal.

The Pentagon said: "Given its geo-strategic location and partnership in the global war on terrorism, Pakistan is a vital ally of the United States . . . This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping an ally meet its legitimate defence requirements."

This sale was controversial because the White House rammed it through Congress, bypassing normal procedures. John Hamre, president of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said: "You don't sell F16s to fight terrorists. You sell them to deepen your structural ties to a partner country and develop a relationship."

Mr Hamre, a former Deputy Defence Secretary under President Clinton, added that this policy of national-interest-led arms sales also existed during the Cold War and that FMS has always been used by American governments to deepen strategic relationships with foreign countries.

Another reason for the increase in FMS is the rising price of oil, which has brought windfall profits to the governments of oil-producing nations.This is particularly true of Saudi Arabia, which agreed a $2.9 billion contract last month to upgrade its Abrams tanks and a $5.8 billion deal to upgrade National Guard equipment.

US troops started to pull out of Saudi Arabia in 2003 and the Kingdom has been the victim of its own terror attacks in recent years. As a result, defence analysts say that Saudi Arabia is using money from higher oil prices to bolster its National Guard forces.

Sales of American military equipment have also benefited from the invasion of Iraq and the bombardment of Afghanistan. There is frequently a rise in military sales after a war as other countries have had an opportunity to see new weaponry in action. This was particularly true in 1993 when countries rushed to buy America's Patriot missile defence system after witnessing its use in the first Gulf War.

A US government source said: "Conflicts act like a customer demonstration show and we tend to see an upsurge in sales because other countries want to buy American having been impressed by what is available."

The Pentagon's decision to use FMS as a means of encouraging greater support for the War on Terror has increased competition in the defence sector. Russia, France and Britain are the next-largest weapons exporters and all have benefited from rising foreign defence budgets - as was demonstrated last week by the sale to Saudi Arabia of 72 Eurofighter jets made by BAE Systems.

However, traditional customers can no longer be taken for granted as the United States seeks out new partners. For example, India is looking at buying new fighter jets and Russia, its traditional supplier, France, the US and the UK are bidding. President Bush is thought to have promoted American-built jets during a recent trip to India, during which he also backed India's nuclear ambitions.

Doug Kennett, a spokesman for Boeing, said: "Clearly, we will target those opportunities that the US Government says that we can go after such as India with fighters."

The July report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics lists 113,000 new jobs, all of which are in services.

"Leisure and hospitality" accounted for 42,000 jobs, most of which are waitresses and bar tenders.

"Education and health services" accounted for 24,000 jobs.

"Professional and business services" accounted for 43,000.

Manufacturing lost another 15,000 jobs.

In the US today, government employs 7.7 million more people than does manufacturing. Little wonder we have an $800 billion annual trade deficit when the government sector is larger than the manufacturing sector.

American economists are yet to face up to the fact that offshoring high productivity, high value-added jobs that pay well and replacing them with waitresses and bartenders is a knife in the heart of the US economy. Charles W. McMillion of MBG Information Services reports that compensation is falling behind price rises and that the US economy has been kept afloat by consumers overspending their disposable incomes by drawing down their accumulated assets and going deeper into debt.

McMillion reports that according the Bureau of Economic Affairs, households outspent their disposable incomes by 1.5% in the second quarter of this year, a rate of dissaving equaled only by the depression year of 1933.

McMillion also reports that recent BLS data indicates that 25 states have lost manufacturing jobs year over year and that 25 states have lost jobs in the information sector.

Little wonder that permits for new private housing are down 20.5% year over year and that new housing starts are down 13.3% year over year. What will we do with the millions of illegal Mexicans when construction jobs dry up?

Wage data covering 82% of all private sector jobs show that the purchasing power of weekly wages today is less than it was when the economic recovery began in November 2001. What kind of economic recovery is it when the purchasing power of wages falls instead of rises?

In my opinion, the recovery was artificial. It was based on extremely low interest rates orchestrated by the Federal Reserve. The low interest rates discouraged saving, but the low rates reduced the mortgage cost of real estate, inflated home prices and encouraged consumers to refinance their homes and to spend the equity.

The federal government has been overspending its income also, and has wasted a minimum of $300 billion on an illegal, pointless, and lost war that has turned Iraq into a terror zone.

It is unclear how much longer the world will trade Americans real goods for pieces of paper that the US economy cannot redeem with tradable goods and services.

Considering the loss of good jobs, the high debt burden, and the dependence on imports, it is unclear what will enable America to pull herself out of the next recession.

Perhaps growing ranks of the unemployed will become cannon fodder for Bush's wars in the Middle East.

Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of The Tyranny of Good Intentions.

"Any time you reduce the staffing of a journalistic enterprise, it's inevitable that you're going to lower the quantity, and probably the quality, of the journalistic product," said newspaper analyst John Morton.

The question facing publishers is how deep can they go?

"If revenue continues to not grow, I think you'll see sort of a steady adjustment in the work force," said Benchmark Co. analyst Edward Atorino.

David Black, the Canadian publisher whose Black Press Ltd. bought the Akron Beacon Journal from McClatchy, told Reuters in a recent interview that some papers can afford to slim down.

"I don't really believe that quality of a newspaper is a direct function of body count in the newsroom," said Black, who also owns the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in Hawaii. "I walk through way too many newsrooms where I see people just talking or looking on the Internet and having fun."

BUYOUTS FEEL BETTER

Whatever the scope of the cuts, they are one of only a few available means to rein in the rising cost of newsprint against cutbacks on advertising, from department stores to cars.

The newspaper industry is girding for fundamental changes as new media, particularly the Internet, attract more readers and advertisers with the promise of free and fast news.

Newspapers' Internet revenue is jumping, but it still represents too small a portion of the pie to turn the industry around. That means that small layoffs and buyouts are one of the few cost-cutting means under their control, analysts said.

Wall Street, sensing an end to the ride but not knowing when it will hit, is punishing most of the stocks. New York Times shares have fallen by 17 percent so far this year and Belo shares are down 23 percent.

Most of the job cuts come through buyouts, which tend to be better for morale than layoffs though they invite problems of their own, experts said.

"A layoff normally means you go on some sort of rehire list," said Linda Foley, president of the Newspaper Guild. "When companies do buyouts, almost always it's about eliminating positions, so the jobs are gone for good."

While buyouts feel better, Foley said, they typically target older, better-paid staffers who harbor institutional knowledge that can be hard to replace.