If we do not effect change in America we might as well be standing in the water in New Orleans.
The Iraqi War now is the most expensive war in the last 60 years. The toll in lives and money is mind boggling. But now we have a boulder tipping the scale here at home, Katrina. The toll in lives is just now being assessed and the grim results do not look hopeful. Those of us lucky enough to not have stood in the path of the disaster however will not escape its reach. In fact, the tentacles of this natural crisis will hit us all before it is over.
Can we afford the war now? First, what is the war's costs? See below...
Aug 31, 12:09 AM (ET)
By Alan Elsner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. war in Iraq now costs more per month than the average monthly cost of military operations in Vietnam in the 1960s and 1970s, according to a report issued on Wednesday.
The report, entitled "The Iraq Quagmire" from the Institute for Policy Studies and Foreign Policy in Focus, both liberal, anti-war organizations, put the cost of current operations in Iraq at $5.6 billion per month. This breaks down to almost $186 million a day.
"By comparison, the average cost of U.S. operations in Vietnam over the eight-year war was $5.1 billion per month, adjusting for inflation," it said.
As a proportion of gross domestic product, the Vietnam War was more significant, costing 12 percent of annual GDP, compared to 2 percent for the Iraq War. However, economists said the Iraq war is being financed with deficit spending and may nearly double the projected federal budget deficit over the next 10 years.
The U.S. Congress has approved four spending bills for Iraq so far with funds totaling $204.4 billion and is expected soon to authorize a further $45.3 billion.
"Broken down per person in the United States, the cost so far is $727, making the Iraq War the most expensive military effort in the past 60 years," wrote authors Phyllis Bennis and Erik Leaver.
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The total cost of the Vietnam War in current dollars was around $600 billion and there are some experts who believe the Iraq War will eventually surpass that total.
For instance, the Congressional Budget Office estimated this year that if the United States managed to reduce its troop deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan to 50,000 by 2010, the cost over the next decade would be an additional $393 billion, which when added to the dollars already spent would exceed the Vietnam total.
While there are far fewer troops in Iraq than there were in Vietnam at the height of that conflict, the weapons they use are more expensive and they are paid more.
The report also highlighted the human costs of the war: the deaths of an estimated 23,000-27,000 Iraqi civilians and more than 2,000 U.S. military personnel and civilian contractors; the social costs of domestic programs slashed to meet the budget shortfall; the loss of income to reservists and National Guard troops who spend long periods away from their careers and businesses as well as the anticipated costs of treating returning troops for mental health conditions as a result of their service.
What are we thinking as a nation? These costs are enormous! The cost of this war could be deployed not only to address the acute crisis of the Katrina Hurricane disaster but also rebuild a failing national infrastructure (a chronic problem).
A real possibility is that this crisis may impact us so severely that our economy may be impossible to rehabilitate. This may be the shove that pushes the teetering economy over the edge and ravish us with deep and jobless recession. As the cost of energy increases, inflation will rear its ugly head. And if the economic machinery begins to grind to a major slow down maybe the foreign investment sustaining our lavish desires, such as wars of conquest, will lose faith and invest elsewhere. What then?
Things could be different for us with visionary leaders. Aside from need the resources for our immediate disaster, which cannot be minimized we could consider these alternative to war.
These war resources could be used to develop alternative energy resources and deploy them. It is estimated that space based solar energy collection and transmission to earth could be accomplished for an investment of 10 to 15 billion dollars. One such space based collector would replace 30 to 40 our existing power plants of the 120 or so that we have. Wind and terrestrial solar energy could be developed and deployed for these costs. All resulting in reduction and eventual freedom from imported energy. Oil wars (for this is what this Iraqi war is about) could be a thing of the past for even the most conservative war monger out there.
The resources of this ridicules war could be used to solve the problems of poverty. Yes we have all heard the tired old saw that "we just can't throw money at it." How come? It seems to me that every time we did throw money at it, with wise administration, that we made progress in holding the line on poverty. Someone show me I am wrong on this assertion if they can. Besides isn't this one of our vaunted "Christian Nation Values" (snark) to give to the poor? If the Moral Majority Crowd and Rev. Robertson believe their own rhetoric then there should be no problem having this nation care for the poor, the homeless and the sick by sharing our national wealth and treasure accordingly.
The resources of this sad and illegal war could be used to help reduce the health crisis in our country - the country claimed to be the greatest country in the world by our fellow citizens on the right. How are we doing on the health of our nation? Well a good indicator is infant mortality. You would think that our right wingers would hang their heads in shame about the fact that Cuba has a lower infant mortality rate than the USA. Where is the culture of life folks on this matter? Would they rather that we just keep on killing and getting killed in Iraq rather than improve our domestic tranquility by promoting and supporting health care for every American? Maybe then the culture of life could begin to flourish here at home and the infant mortality rate would the lowest in the world. Maybe then we WOULD BE the greatest nation.
How do the right wingers respond to these issues? "It's a matter of personal responsibility." The lift up your life ay the boot straps philosophy is anti-community and ultimately anti-American. They want to blame the Americans first. And if you blame the Americans you blame America for isn't society the collection of people that make it up.
Why can't our priorities change? Why do our Democratic leaders sit on their hands and keep their mouths shut so much? Why do they not join together and with a loud voice call to shame this deceitful and careless government? If we do not effect change in America SOON we might as well be standing in the water in New Orleans.