As I flipped through the International Herald Tribune this morning in Paris, I was struck by an interesting article by Retired General Wesley Clark. His thesis is that America's strong industrial base over the past decades has given some positive spin-offs to the military. To now let Detroit ( the icon of the US industrial base) die, would be a serious blow to the US military and by extension a serious blow to US global strength in an otherwise unsettled world. He feels that the US Gov't should step up to save Detroit but he feels any bailout package should come with strings attached. Washington ( acting on behalf of taxpayers whose money will comprise any bailout package) should demand that Detroit deliver big, immediate strides forward in electric cars, fuel cells, hybrid cars and the like. Not only will this have positive implications for global warming and for domestic energy consumption, the military will realize serious benefits as well.

I think General Clark has hit the nail on the head. Now, let's see if the folks in Washington can come to agree with his thesis and do something remarkably constructive for a change.