TheMilwaukeeChannel.com - Helen Thomas - New Year Brings Long List Of Wishes

Bush Needs To Control Rumsfeld, Ashcroft; Intelligence Groups Need To Get Along

First, I hope that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's boast that we can fight a war on two fronts -- Iraq and North Korea -- in addition to our war on terrorism was simply part of his typical braggadocio posturing and that wiser heads will prevail.

It would also be nice if President George W. Bush would call a halt to Attorney General John Ashcroft's rampaging drive to curtail civil liberties, particularly of those caught up in his dragnet sweep-searches for terror suspects.

Of course, that may be too much to ask for since Ashcroft would not be doing what he is doing without a green light from the White House.

I also hope that our key intelligence services -- the FBI, CIA, and National Security Agency -- will drop their territorial rivalries and share more information. Why should they keep battling one another?

In foreign policy I hope we will win back the respect we once enjoyed around the world. But we can touch the hearts and minds of the disenchanted only by doing the right thing, becoming more aware of the sensitivities of others and once again displaying our traditional tolerance.

We have lost much of our shine as a beacon of freedom and have not asked ourselves why.

Helen Thomas - a wise woman who says we live "from hope to hope." And sometimes we can achieve what we hope for if the people care enough. That's what democracy is all about...