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| 5/23 |
| 2007/10/24-26 [Politics/Foreign/MiddleEast/Iraq] UID:48435 Activity:high |
10/24 A trillion dollars here, a trillion dollars there, pretty soon
you are talking about real money:
http://www.csua.org/u/jt4 (Yahoo News)
\_ We would have saved zillions of dollars if we'd just gone home
in 1945 and didn't leave our shores or open any bases.
\_ Because after WWII we were still fighting a bloody ugly
war surrounded by ethnic cleansing (actually my understanding
is everything has pretty much been cleansed by now) while
a civil war raged around us. This isn't WWII in any way
shape or form, and trying to compare the two proves you are
a fucking moron.
\_ I wasn't comparing the two. Assuming so "proves you are a
fucking moron". It is a factual statement that if we went
isolationist we'd save money.
\_ Yeah, we probably have spent too much on defense over the years,
considering the few risks we have, but I don't think we should
have completely abandoned all our overseas bases. Do you?
\_ Maybe. Why not? Why are we still in Korea, Germany, 'the
former Yugoslav republics', Britain, Japan, Cuba, and I
really don't know how many other places?
\_ Iraq.
\_ Iraq, Qatar, Yemen, maybe Saudi Arabia.
\_ Not Saudi Arabia. And they say UBL didn't win.
\_ Yes, those too, thanks. Anyway, to the person a few
posts up: why don't you think we should have
completely abandoned all our overseas bases? The
point of a military base is to project military power.
Why do you want to project power all over the world?
What benefit is there to the US?
\_ We need a few naval bases, so that we can keep
shipping lanes open and refuel our navy and
project enough air power to protect them on
patrol. Our economy depends too much on trade
to ignore shipping lanes. Not much more than that.
\_ Wow, that is $100k per Iraqi.
\_ War costs are generally not measured in head count.
\_ Maybe they should be. |
| 5/23 |
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| www.csua.org/u/jt4 -> news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071024/pl_nm/iraq_usa_funding_dc_2;_ylt=AhlSXpINFIwx90jSJqwgmB4E1vAI With President George W Bush indicating a large contingent of US troops likely will be engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan for many years to come, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated the total tab for the wars from 2001 through 2017. CBO estimated that interest costs alone from 2001-2017 could total more than $700 billion. So far, Congress has given Bush $604 billion for the two wars, with about $412 billion spent in Iraq, according to CBO, which is Congress' in-house budget analyst. In Iraq alone, the United States is spending about $11 billion a month, with costs escalating. Bush is seeking another $196 billion for combat in Iraq and Afghanistan through September 30 and Congress is expected to debate that request over the next few months. CBO estimated that between 2008 and 2017, the wars could cost slightly more than $1 trillion, assuming overall troop strength is cut to 75,000 by 2013. Currently, there are about 170,000 US troops in Iraq and another 26,000 in Afghanistan. Finance charges for the money already spent on the war will total $415 billion from 2001 to 2017, according to CBO. For the next decade, "interest outlays would increase by a total of $290 billion over that 10-year period," CBO told the House Budget Committee, which is reviewing long-term war costs. "To put it all on our credit cards with no accountability, with no plan to pay for it, I think is the height of irresponsibility," said Rep. James McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat who serves on the budget panel and is an outspoken war critic. "It will be just one more toxic legacy of this disastrous war we will have to leave our kids to clean up." With national elections about a year away and public discontent with the Iraq war running deep, Democrats are highlighting the huge costs of the Iraq war as they seek $22 billion more than Bush wants for domestic social programs such as health care and education. US soldiers rush a patient towards a Medivac Blackhawk helicopter of the Charlie Company 2-227, Aviation Battalion called 'Witchdoctors' after lading at the forward operating base Liberty camp in Baghdad October 5, 2007. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. |