Hundreds of thousands dead, maimed and psychologically scared, millions displaced from their homelands, and $700 Billion Dollars of Debt, and we’re back to where we were on 9/11. The GAO issued a report this month stating that “the United States has not met its national security goals to destroy terrorist threats and close the safe haven in Pakistan’s FATA [Federally Administered Tribal Areas]….” They also found “broad agreement, as documented in the National Intelligence Estimate, State, and embassy documents, as well as Defense officials in Pakistan, that al Qaeda had regenerated its ability to attack the United States and had succeeded in establishing a safe haven in Pakistan’s FATA.”

I would blame everyone who voted for George Bush in 2000 and 2004 but as Frank Rich reminded us on Sunday, the democratic ticket beat Bush-Cheney in Pennsylvania by 205,000 votes in 2000 and 144,000 votes in 2004. And those were just the votes that were counted. Factor in the millions that weren’t and you have a decidedly Democratic victory. If we want progress in this country and an end to our foreign policy madness, we better keep an eye on who’s counting the votes come November 2008.

But I digress. Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, will hold a hearing on May 7 to examine the GAO’s findings and “discuss actions that a new U.S. administration can take to reconstitute our foreign policy in this region, to refocus our efforts on eliminating terrorist threats there, and to rebuild our relationship with the Pakistani people.” Find all the members of the committee, including Ron Paul, here.

This post was written by Mary Mancini