Receintly, I wrote a piece for a local blog. It was immediantly flamed, edited by the webmaster and then locked down so no postings could be added. It went something like this:
As most of us have all learned in the course of our lives, nothing comes for free. Whether it is financially, socially or spiritually, everything from the most basic, to that carrying with it, the most profound consequences, has a price. The ongoing fiasco in Iraq is indeed, one of the most profound.
More after the break:
Financially, the price tag for the entirety of WWII was $2,091.3 BILLION, (adjusted to 1990 dollars), and the bottom line to the US involvement in Vietnam was over $150,000,000,000. The current expenditures on the ongoing Iraqi adventure stand to date at over, $279,000,000,000, and climbing. That's right. 279, BILLION dollars (1.). THAT, my friends, is a Whole Lot o' Rosie. It's enough in fact, to run a country. Consider: The entire GNP of Switzerland is $286,000,000,000 (2.). In fact, that's more that the GNP of Sweden, Belgium, Russia, Austria, Turkey, Poland, Indonesia and Thailand.
Why is that important? Consider the following:
We (The People), were told by this Administration, specifically, by Mitch Daniels, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, on 15 Sept 2002, that the cost would be about around $50,000,000,000. Fifty, billion dollars.
Subsequently, Donald Rumsfeld remarked:
Donald Rumsfeld wrote:
"Well, the Office of Management and Budget, has come up, come up with a number that's something under $50 billion for the cost. How much of that would be the U.S. burden, and how much would be other countries, is an open question."
(3.)
So, apparently, Rumsfeld is saying that the US cost will be even LESS than the OMB estimate of $50 billion. And continuing, we find this:
Paul Wolfowitz wrote:
"There's a lot of money to pay for this that doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people...and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years...
(4.)
So according to Sec of Def. Rumsfeld, the US stands to net, about $50 billion. Not bad for a little death and destruction, eh?
Sec. Rumsfeld also told the same committee:
Quote:
"I don't believe that the United States has the responsibility for reconstruction, in a sense...[Reconstruction] funds can come from those various sources I mentioned: frozen assets, oil revenues and a variety of other things, including the Oil for Food, which has a very substantial number of billions of dollars in it.
(5.)
Pardon me but, BBWWWAAAAHAHAHAHAHA But it's not about oil...
Anyway, That's quite a difference when compared to the current (and counting) $279,000,000,000. If the company I work for had cost overruns of that magnitude, was that far over-budget, not only would we loose the contracts, but we'd more than likely be investigated for fraud and a whole array of felonies, sued and people would be going to jail. But I digress... We aren't the government.
A second, somewhat overlooked cost, is what the effects of a deployment have on a state and local level. One only has to look no further than the Katrina catastrophe. Thousands of National Guard and Reserve troops and their equipment that should have been there, were not available to help with evacuation, security, aid and relief for millions of this country's citizens. That, coupled with the Federal government's tepid, if not altogether non-existent response, left American citizens to fend for themselves. Add to that, the funding cuts for public assistance and services, mental health costs, cuts in aid and in domestic social programs, all to pay for the ballooning cost of the war. And, let's not forget the unbelievable damage being done to the environment (some of which is probably irreversible). It becomes clear that millions, not even involved in the conflict, are being directly effected by it (6.).
Finally, and MOST importantly, is the human cost.
To date, that cost equals 2,422 American men and women dead (7.). Of these, 2,287 have occurred AFTER the now infamous, "Mission Accomplished", top gun stunt. THAT, is the real price we are paying; 2,422 American men and women who have left husbands and wives, sons and daughters, parents, brothers and sisters and cherished pets. Never to feel the warmth of the sun or the cold of the snow again. Never again to listen to a rainstorm, or go fishing or blowout the candles on a birthday cake, or feel the touch of another, living, being. THAT, my friends, is the true price of war. And one must remember, these are not just numbers on a government list, they were real people, they have names and faces. (8.) Take for example, Sgt. 1st Class Ramon A. Acevedoaponte, from Watertown, NY. He was 51 yrs old, assigned to Headquarters Company, 3rd Forward Support Battalion, Division Support Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division. He was one of two killed by a roadside bomb. Or how about Pfc. Lori Piestewa? Remember her? 22 yrs old, from Tuba City, Az. Assigned to the 507th Maintenance Company. She was killed when her convoy was ambushed near Nasiriya, Iraq, on March 23, 2003. Now does it ring a bell?
These are but two of the thousands of people who died, doing what they were ordered to do, by people who were too self important to do the same job, when they were called to do so. That, is the true price of war.
But, in a way, those are the lucky ones. Tens of thousands have been wounded. The total number now stands, officially, at 18,083 (7.). Many of those, are now having to deal with catastrophic injuries that in wars past, would have been terminal. Imagine what they are now going to have to deal with. Loss of limbs, sight, mobility. Unable to defend themselves, or even fend for themselves, totally dependant on the care of another person. I wonder if George Bush ever thinks about these people and the price THEY have paid?
Folks, man-kind has GOT to take a step or two forward, and put and end to this. I am reminded of the words to one of the greatest songs ever written, sung, by Mr Louis Armstrong...
I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
The colours of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shakin' hands, sayin' "How do you do?"
They're really saying "I love you"
I hear babies cryin', I watch them grow
They'll learn much more than I'll ever know
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Yes, I think to myself, what a wonderful world
Oh yeah
Footnotes:
(1.) A link to the figures is here: http://nationalpriorities.org/...
(2.) A link to the figures is here: http://www.scaruffi.com/...
(3.) A link to the official DOD transcript is here: http://www.defenselink.mil/...
(4.) Wolfowitz, official testimony to the House Committee on Appropriations Hearing on a Supplemental War Regulation, 27 March 2003.
(5.) Rumsfeld, official testimony to the House Committee on Appropriations Hearing on a Supplemental War Regulation, 27 March 2003.
(6.) Additional info can be found here: http://www.iraqometer.com/
(7.) A link to the official DOD accounting is here: http://www.defenselink.mil/...
(8.) A link to a listing is here: http://www.cnn.com/...
So, What say you Kossacks?
