What Will Be in 2003 ?

What will happen in 2003 ? No human being knows for sure. But we can observe and analyze the storm clouds that are on the horizon.

by Don Ward

Pollsters in recent surveys asked the American people: What are your greatest concerns for 2003 ? In most polls, the number one answer is war in the Middle East; and number two is the economy.

The heat of the rhetoric in the Middle East grows hotter and the buildup for war is increasing with each passing day. With the most recent report from the United Nations' weapons inspectors stating that Iraq is not cooperating and has not provided documentation of having destroyed known weapons of mass destruction, the drum beats of war are deafening. Even the most moderate member of the Bush administration, Secretary of State Colin Powell, stated that time was running out for the Iraqis. Fox News is reporting that U.S. special operations forces are already on the ground in Iraq.

How will war with Iraq affect your life? War in the Middle East will impact your wallet immediately. Oil prices are rising rapidly—the spot price now exceeds $33 a barrel. Energy costs are soaring as the United States struggles through an arctic winter that dumped snow over the northern tier of states with thermometers plummeting as far south as Miami, Florida.

The stock market is down for the third year in a row, consumer spending is slumping, unemployment is growing, manufacturing continues to slow, the trade deficit is spiraling out of sight. The prospects for a brighter economic future grow dimmer.

According to Stratfor Report, Japan, with the world's second largest economy, continues to wallow in a protracted economic bust. Japan's Nikkei index has lost 19 percent of its value over the last 12 months.

Germany, with the world's third largest economy, also continues to experience grave difficulties. Germany's unemployment rate stands at 10 percent. Some of the nation's largest banks are in trouble.

Read the full article at www.wnponline.org/wnp/wnp0302/whatwillbe.htm

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