"economics of empire"

I'm reading this article (which is actually from the Progressive magazine May 03 edition) called "Economics of Empire" which dissects what the author terms "market fundamentalism" a.k.a. "The Washington Consensus".
While I haven't read but four pages (of the 25 total) what really struck me is that the Bush administration not only enjoys blurring history and Hollywood(perhaps he's taking lessons from Reagan here?)
but that Bush in particular seems to make odd links in his answers to tough or touchy questions. When asked (according to the article)
about why the rest of the world questions the Bush Administration's view of Saddam Hussein's "threat" to America, he (Bush) brings up free trade as a defense...

You can find this article online by typing into google: "economics of empire" and remember to include the quotations marks or you'll get all kinds of garbage. I'll post my thoughts on the article once I get through the whole thing.

peace!
jen