Hightower Lowdown

In last month's Lowdown we said that the war with Yugoslavia was above all else a NATO offensive on behalf of globalism (as defined by Wall Street). Seeking to be the world's toughest cop, NATO enforces its will with high-tech bombs and computer wizardry that would make even George Lucas jealous.

The big media says that the war and our "victory" mark a new era in which any abuser of human rights will have smart bombs rained on his homes, bridges, tanks and TV stations until he says "Uncle."

Okay, for the record, Slobo Milosevic is a thug and the Kosovars should get safe escort home—but then again, they might still have had homes to go back to (or a bridge to get there in time for the 21st century) if more time and money had been spent on negotiating and less on bombing.

But, as we also said last month, the war was a chance for the military and the arms merchants to try out new tricks, to use up huge stocks of aging weapons, and now, to sell new hardware to the U.S. and to every other country who can pony up the dough.

Raytheon has said they expect to see about $1 billion in new contracts to replace munitions used in the Balkans.

And $1 billion is just the tip of the iceberg. Defense analysts at Forecast International predict, for instance, that orders will be rolling in from the Pentagon and the NATO allies for radar-jamming and spy planes, which helped NATO carry out its bombing campaign. And military planners are also said to want more transport planes to move troops and material in their future wars.

Northrop Grumman's president told the Dallas Morning News that he hopes the much hyped use of the B-2 stealth bomber for the Missouri-to-Belgrade bombing runs will entice Congress to order more of them. Just don't get 'em wet.