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Resource allocation
Did anyone else catch this headline over the weekend? "Studies: Iraq costs US $12B per month" In case that number isn't incomprehensible enough, way down in the article we get a report of the total cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through the end of the 2008 fiscal year: $845 billion, which the article notes is more than the $670 billion (that's adjusted to 2007 dollars) that Vietnam cost in 12 years. I guess it's getting harder and harder to fight wars with dubious rationales for starting and uncertain aims for continuing.
Trying to put that in some perspective, if we as a nation decide to go dutch on that tab, every man, woman, and child needs to kick in $2784. Of course, our country has other things to pay for, so we'll just throw that on the metaphorical national American Express card and take care of it later. I hope we're getting bonus miles.
The article references two distinct studies on the issue. Depending on who you ask, continuing military occupation of both countries through 2017 would have a price tag between $1.2 trillion and $2.7 trillion. Which, apparently, would cost around $816 billion in interest alone. Incidentally, these were "best-case" and "realistic-moderate" scenarios. I take it the reporter's brain locked up fatally before he could ask how bad it could get.
I have a hard time believing that--even from a security standpoint--that kind of money couldn't be better spent. If we're determined to run our nation massively into debt, it would be nice to at least feel like we're getting a good value for mortgaging away our future.
Reading the stats lin your post makes my stomach hurt. It also gets my
Irish up at our asshole of a President. Got 8 years? You too can squander
a significant surplus, drag your country into an uneccesary war, let the
true villain run free, turn your back on the people of your own country in
times of natural distaster and increase the national debt of the country to
amounts beyond your comprehension!! Go Bush.
"I hope we're getting bonus miles" would have been a great title for the
post.
where the govt comes up with all this money...just keep printing the
money??
Outrageous! And yet, there are still people out there who think Bush is
doing a good job. Don't forget John McCain said we could be fighting this
war for another 100 years. They should grab their guns and their
checkbooks and go "win" the war. How many of our failing bridges could be
replaced with $845 billion? How many border security agents could be hired
with that money? How many American builders could have been hired to
rebuild New Orleans?