The last decade in America can be defined by three words - “War on Terror”.

It’s a definition that’s been advanced by both our politicians and our media.

And while we’ve been so focused on this War on Terror - with its vivid imagery of a smoldering World Trade Center - the bearded anti-Christ Osama Bin Laden - and our soldiers in desert camo patrolling across the Middle East - there’s another war that’s been completely forgotten.

And that’s Wall Street’s War on America.

We’re only three years removed from one of the worst financial catastrophes in the history of the nation.

But since it went down right smack dab in the middle of our War on Terror decade - and was on George W. Bush's watch - it’s been ignored.

9/11 killed nearly 3,000 people - a terrible, terrible tragedy no doubt - and I’m not trying to downplay the importance of being vigilant against terror.

There are people who want to kill Americans around the world - that’s a fact.

But what the financial crisis of 2008 taught us is that banksters on Wall Street can do far more damage to our nation than any terrorist could ever dream of.

While the costs of 9/11 were mostly American lives - damage to symbolic buildings - and a blow to our national psyche - the costs of the Wall Street meltdown were far greater.

Millions of people losing their homes - millions more losing their jobs - millions of divorces, an explosion in child abuse, and a spike in suicides - and trillions of dollars of wealth literally removed from hard-working Americans, be it in lost home equity, lower wages, or lower pay and fewer benefits - or unemployment.

Our federal budget and most state budgets have enormous holes blown in them - threatening to take down our economy and undo all the progress that’s been made since the New Deal helped create the American middle-class.

The dollar is teetering on collapse thanks to Bush borrowing 5 trillion dollars to fight two unnecessary wars and give tax breaks to his Oligarch billionaire buddies - and China will overtake us as the world’s economic superpower in fewer than 5 years - in large part because we’ve devoted all our resources to chasing terrorists around the Middle East instead of investing in our own nation.

The days of the American empire are numbered - and it’s not because of BIN Laden - it’s because we’ve BEEN had by banksters.

Al Qaeda hurt us bad - but Wall Street nearly ended America as we know it - and damn well could - and, frankly, almost certainly will - do it again .

Al-Qaeda is considered public enemy number one - and our politicians have spent trillions of dollars - fundamentally remaking our society - compromising our freedoms and ideals - and burying our reputation around the world - just to engage in a worldwide jousting match with this sorry, small band of crazies and criminals.

We are willing to pay any cost to make sure 9/11 doesn’t happen again - even stupid costs like stripping our rights and putting Chertoff Porno Scanners in our airports to hit us all with radiation.

But what about financial collapse? What are we willing to do to make sure that doesn’t happen again?

While we’ve spent trillions in corporate welfare to bail out banks - we haven’t spent a dime on preventing another crash.

Wall Street lobbyists went to work making sure that any financial reform laws are either killed outright or watered down to the point of irrelevance - and they were successful.

And now Republicans in Congress are even making sure that those miniscule Wall Street reform laws that WERE passed WON'T be enforced.

Basically - nothing has changed since 2008 - more bubbles are being created - and as the recent S&P report warned - there’s more risk in today’s market than there was before the meltdown in 2008.

It’s like if after 9/11 - Bush said, “What, Me Worry? Everything's fine!”.

You think the American people would have been satisfied with that answer?

I doubt it - so why does the Republican Party think they can sit back - block any efforts at Democratic reform - and let Wall Street take down our economy again?

Is that how powerful the Wall Street lobby is?

They can just bribe some politicians and get back to business as usual, ruining our economy like nothing happened?

It makes you wonder - if Al Qaeda had lobbyists - would the War on Terror ever have happened?

Pakistan, for example, does have lobbyists here in DC, and they're already pressuring lawmakers to tone down the rhetoric on Pakistan’s involvement in hiding Bin Laden .

In the next few years - thanks to our trillion-dollar-plus so-called War on Terror - American may escape not getting hit by Al Qaeda again.

But one thing we won't escape - is another Wall Street take-down.

And this time - when Wall Street implodes - we'll find ourselves in the midst of the second Great Depression - and we'll wonder why we didn't see it coming.

Why were we chasing terrorists instead of banksters?

This decade is closing with a huge victory on the 9/11 front - taking out Bin Laden.

Unfortunately - looking at the next decade in America - and the mess that has yet to be cleaned up on Wall Street - terrorism is the least of our worries.

That's The Big Picture.