The war in Iraq has given rise to numerous scandals and allegations of violation of U.S. law sufficient to undermine America's moral authority abroad and at home for a long time to come. Two excellent recent write-ups shedding light on how the latest such scandal, "Blackwatergate," reflects on budget politics and beyond are below:

• Blackwatergate Is Also A Big Budget Problem, Stan Collender ... unless federal budget politics change drastically, there will continue to be a premium on projecting ongoing military spending as low as possible by underestimating the nature and extent of the threat and the troops needed to deal with it... It also means that the U.S. will rely on firms like Blackwater for quite some time unless revenues and spending reductions become a politically acceptable way to pay for the increase in personnel costs that would result from a more realistic assessment.
• The Other Blackwaters, Matt Lewis, OMB Watch ... privatization—through corporate subsidies, contracting and even some tax breaks—makes it much more difficult for the government to win the "hearts and minds" of the public. As a result, public confidence in government is at rock bottom.