Rich Moniak

OPINION: If Alaska's political leaders want to reduce outside interference with the state's economy, then one of the solutions they should consider is creating a publicly-owned Alaska State Bank.

In October 2002 President Bush made the case that the regime of Saddam Hussein posed a gathering threat to the nation's security. Congress passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, which gave him the power to go to war against Iraq. He activated National Guard troops to support the invasion.

On Jan. 9, Congress overwhelming passed resolutions supporting Israel's right to defend itself against rocket attacks by Hamas. Congressman Howard Berman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters after the vote that he had "no trouble justifying the war that Israel has undertaken, but I am deeply troubled by the suffering, destruction, and loss of innocent life that it inevitably entails."