$2,400,000,000,000
By Nicole Belle Tuesday Oct 23, 2007 5:45pmThat's right. Eleven zeros. New estimates out this week by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office place the cost of the Iraq occupation through 2017 at 2.4 TRILLION dollars, or put another way, $8,000 for every man, woman and child in the US. And that does not include the interest on the foreign loans being used to finance it so that the top 1% can still enjoy their tax cuts.
Remember Wolfowitz claiming that the war would pay for itself? HA!
The House Budget Committee held a hearing today to discuss the growing costs of this occupation. Get this: the Republicans on the committee didn't even bother to show up.
Rep. Doggett: "I assume, by Mr. Ryan being here, that every member of this panel, including every Republican member on that side of the aisle where all the seats are vacant, received notice about this hearing about the cost of war in Iraq?"
Chairman Spratt: "I'm sure they did."
Rep. Doggett: "And when was this notice of the hearing sent out?"
Chairman Spratt: "Seven days ago, as required by the rules."
The Gavel also provides these comparables:
$2.4 trillion is enough to:
· Provide every college freshman in the country with a free, four year education at a private college or university
· Provide health care coverage to every American for one year
· Pay off 26% of our current national debt
And the Republicans want to tell us they're the Party of Fiscal Responsibility? What are they smoking?

Login or Register to post comments.
I keep telling Durbin, the Democrats need to roll out the footage of the Bushies and the MSM promising the American people that the war in Iraq wouldn't cost us a cent.
"What are they smoking?"
Crack with their bffs sounds right.
They're literally smoking in the boys room, smoking dicks! I'm so happy that we spent our money/future/honor so wisely. Where's the prez when you want to give him a big hug?
Larry Craig smokes cock in men's restroom stalls.
argh!
Of course Governor Bush ( his last elected office ) could always use his execuhtiv privlidge
or a sighnin statement to tap Social Security funds in order to temporarily satiate his
necrophilia.
Naw, he couldn't do that. The Democrats in Congress wouldn't stand for it.
On the other hand......
Allen McDonald, El Galloviejo®
They're probably smoking dope. That would be another behavior that they condemn in anyone else, but that they engage in themselves.
GOP = FUCK THE AMERICAN PUBLIC
this war is done, we the people of the United States of America are done with
the deceipt and lies of the bushco. we also declare that bush and cheney
should be IMPEACHED NOW.
"What are they smoking?"
Nothing.They're heavily into the pharmaceuticals.
Yet there were congressional measures taken to condemn MoveOn.org, and to rename french fries to freedom fries.
What in holy hell will it take before this country's people wake up and take it all back?
But as we all know, the Bush administration is 99.9% efficient and corruption free, so that means only about $2,400,000,000 of that has gone into someone's pocket.
Now that is a lot of shiny toys for making bang bangs and innocent peoples dead !!
Cons didn't turn up, meh, maybe the dems shouldn't show up for the funding vote ?........
What are they smoking?
These Republican jokers are on crack!
And when, kind sirs, are the pussy Dems going to do something about it, instead of constantly singing, "But we don't have the votes, tra-la-la...". And I thought I was a fucking maroon (with apologies to my idol, Bugs Bunny).
Beyond sick.
Just another nail in the US coffin. Just wait until China...and to a lesser extent, Japan...decide they want their money.
This country is about to become one giant f**ked up place. Last one out, turn out the lights.
This spells economic disaster for the US. Bush and his feeble minded henchmen have done the impossible. They have taken the healthiest economy in the world and totally destroyed it. Their "genius" lay in the ability to maintain the power and wealth of the Bush base while destroying the hopes and dreams of the rest of us. I'd like to say that the sob's will be held accountable. But with Reid and Pelosi leading the Democrats, the best we can hope for is that they'll not tell the rest of us to apologize for criticizing the thieves and warmongers who have ruined us.
When you're standing in the bread line, ask the person in front and the person behind you if they voted for Bush or Kerry. If the voted for Bush, shove 'em out of line and let the hungry mob have at them. That's about the limit of our response.
Fuck, I've never been this depressed or felt this hopeless. Not during the Vietnam War, not during the fabled Carter "malaise". Not even while Ronnie Raygun was sinking us into a deep debt that it took the senior Bush and Bill Clinton 12 years to dig us out of. I'm glad I'm getting old because this is no longer a country where there's the young can be hopeful.
Ha HA! Couldnt happen to a nicer country. Karma is a bitch eh?
What patriotic American neo-con wants to ruin a good buzz by showing up for a hearing about financing the war? This is a meeting about the spending $$$, not the stealing of it. God damn what a buzzkill!
Every Democratic candidate for every office coming up for election in 2008 had better use this hearing in their campaign ads and when they go out and talk about the war and how much it is costing. The fucking Republicans DID NOT EVEN SHOW UP!!!!! Get ready for new employment asholes.
What the cons did was decide their version of the world was all that mattered and they did whatever it took to make it happen no matter how slimy, illegal, dishonest, or immoral this past 7 years. "Were doing whats best for America".
What do we get for the deal? Debt slavery.
I can't help but wonder how many solar panels or wind turbines 2.4 trillion dollars could have bought and how many manufacturing jobs it could have created in America.
Or maybe, instead of GM, FORD & Chrysler closing multiple plants the US could have helped them become they leader manufacturers of electronic cars. Instead, we've got Honda building new plants in America.
U.S. politicians are beholden to oil interests and the politicians are holding America hostage to the status quo rather than innovating and creating a better future for it's citizens and the world.
Frodo @ 17:
Actually, the people are mostly nice.
Yes, what goes around, comes around. Especially for those who get a giddy delight at laughing at the troubles of others, like you did.
Frodo @ 17:
Wish I could argue with you Frodo. As a society we've brought this upon ourselves through our inaction, greed and complacency.
Yep, payback is a bitch but before you get too smug just remember we still have a bunch of maniacs controlling the most deadly arsenal of WMDs in the world. You'd better hope things don't get too bad for us, 'cause if they do those fools are just likely to use some of that crap and then the whole world takes it in the shorts.
Think positive, peaceful thoughts for all of us. Maybe we can slide through these tremendously dangerous times without some freak pushing the button.
Ho much would Saddam have charged us just to sell us the country?
greg white @ 21:
Whats the Dems vision of whats best for America?
Still waiting.
Lollimom @ 22:
Nice and stupid. (Being one myself, I'm not poking fun at them)
"Fuck, I've never been this depressed or felt this hopeless. Not during the Vietnam War, not during the fabled Carter "malaise". Not even while Ronnie Raygun was sinking us into a deep debt that it took the senior Bush and Bill Clinton 12 years to dig us out of. I'm glad I'm getting old because this is no longer a country where there's the young can be hopeful.
Sad, but true. I'd hate to be a kid growing up in this country. Talk about starting out with two and a half strikes. Unreal. A country of optimism and hope is being bitch-slapped into a country of failure and depression. I truly don't see the situation changing. That mountain of debt is beyond staggering. And like I mentioned earlier, just wait until China and Japan demand their repayment. I think you could be looking at the next Soviet Union. A rusty relic of a once glorious past.
And don't think for one second the rest of the world won't enjoy every second of it. They will finally have the bully on its knees...and they're ready to pound the ever-living shit out of the US. And I don't blame them at all.
I think we should sue those responsible, get a judgement and attach their assets to pay for this!!!! Take away their ranches, their stocks, their savings, their trucks and anything else they have that we can sell.
Frodo @ 17:
Frodo-This is similar to sanctions. The people who will be hurt by this the most will be the little people, the hoi polloi, not the fuckwits who caused it.
Don't blame us all-for starters, this GDCSing bunch of criminals seized the country in 2000. They were never elected.
Seems strange to ask why rebups are more fiscal. As far as I can tell dems are just as guilty as republicans on spending money on this war. At least republicans didn't lie to us all to get elected, only to turn around and approve every dollar that mother fucking in the white house asks for.
Welcome to the United States of China.
L.A. Confidential @ 25:
Haven't been paying attention?
Yeah, you're right. It's much better to ignore complex proposals for healthcare, education, diplomacy, responsible use of military, etc., etc. etc. and just pretend they don't exist.
After all, those complex proposals are... well, complex, right?
My flu is affecting my typing today, in case you were wondering.
You guys don't get it: fiscal responsibility is for poor people. Rich people don't need to be fiscally responsible. That's what rich means.
Duh.
emerald @ 24, I was thinking much the same thing -- how much Iraqi oil could we have bought and paid for on the free market with that $2.4 trillion? Surely enough to tide us over for a few years while we switch to renewables? (That was sarcasm, in case it didn't come through.)
The Truth Hurts @ 27:
Sad, but true. I'd hate to be a kid growing up in this country. Talk about starting out with two and a half strikes. Unreal. A country of optimism and hope is being bitch-slapped into a country of failure and depression. I truly don't see the situation changing. That mountain of debt is beyond staggering. And like I mentioned earlier, just wait until China and Japan demand their repayment. I think you could be looking at the next Soviet Union. A rusty relic of a once glorious past.
And don't think for one second the rest of the world won't enjoy every second of it. They will finally have the bully on its knees...and they're ready to pound the ever-living shit out of the US. And I don't blame them at all.
I'm pretty much with you. We're falling apart.
Geez, relax people.
The oil revenue will pay for the war.
We will be greeted as liberators and welcomed with open arms because the insurgency is in its last throes.
Besides, the mission is accomplished.
If you want to help your country, go shopping.
What are they smoking.......well....it ain't the same thing I smoke...that's for damn sure....8000 dollars......and it's not even over yet......might as well double it.Or more.One thing for sure is I don't want no part of these assholes.....................war on drugs???...don't make me laugh.
L.A. Confidential @ 25:
swarmofkillermonkeys @ 37:
And everyone in the world hates us for our freedoms according to Bush.
That's RIGHT for you!!! If you support the RIGHT this is what you get...I hope you enjoyed your ass humping, please tune in tomorrow for anther exciting episode of "What's going on now?" the game show that where you the audience will loose your own money!
Lollimom @ 22:
Voting Bush in twice isn't generally considered nice..........
Being behind starting this war (what was it initially 70% for killing everyone in the middle east ?) wouldn't be either .... not revolting and over throwing the government could be considered "not nice" as well.
As for "most" (mostly nice), most of the times I've been there (all over the country) and "most" of the people I've met Just keep going on about how the USA is the best in the world at everything and everyone should shut up and be grateful that they are around and worship them and how absolutely everything in the US us the best and better than every where else (while it blatantly isn't), etc. That all Europeans (of which I'm one) are scum, especially the French (best give back the statue of Liberty) Asia is a resource, Russia ..... well typical cold war BS there, though I digress....
The attitude/environment/worldly ignorance I've witnessed is so far beyond nauseating I can't think of the word to describe it. Enough to say that living in Canada temporarily at the moment, when I have to leave and re-enter to renew my visa I fly to Europe and back opposed to crossing the border to the US and back, you couldn't pay me to go there at the moment, maybe at the end of next year, though when another republican gets in, I'm leaving this continent as the disease that is what is going on there will take down Canada I think, Harper is starting the ball rolling on that one.
So where are the educated, travelled, reasonable ones, regardless of that, with the exception of the code pink girls, who is actually doing anything opposed to talking ?
I heard a comedian the other say saying he was looking at a sign that said "God bless America" thinking :
"Now, see that, there is the issue right there, if that said God bless the world we would live in a much nicer place".
spit take @ 32:
The Dems are to busy giving Bush everything he wants rather then forcing him to invest these initiatives.
we need to seize the assets of war profitteers and raise the taxes on multi-millionaires to 90% .
L.A. Confidential @ 36:
Seriously, come on now.
Yes, this hurts. Our innocence is finally lost -- forever. You can't just think of Vietnam as a fluke. Bummer.
But the young are always optimists. And this country has shone, and can still shine as the very land of idealism. That's what this country has always been about. But do you really thing that every other country in the world hasn't already been through this once with a corrupt leader? Or even a dozen times?
Good lord, just look at the history of the Brittish Empire, and their legacy even today. We screwed up, no doubt about it. So we don't have a perfect score, and we're human. So what, we can still lead the world by example. Technology for clean energy. Human rights. And yes, world peace.
The United States can still, is DEMANDED still, make a huge contribution to these areas. Quite simply we can make an impact on them like NO other country right now.
We are and should be frustrated, but just work towards a better future -- right now -- in your own life until things turn around nationally. We aren't fallen apart yet, and won't be as long as ever day my fellow Americans, regular folks, work so hard to stay strong, live well, respect each other, and (eventually) hold these people accountable.
Freedom is never free, and soldiers aren't the only ones that must fight for it.
tr @ 44:
That can't happen while Bush is in power. He'll never go after the profitteers from his own family.
Sounds about right. Dollar devaluation from the 2.267 trillion a leading economist predicted in December.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12855294/national_affairs_the...
2.4 trillion !!? What the..?
Thanks C&L!
I'm trying to eat my mushroom-cloud shaped cake in celebration of Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week and there you go spoiling my god damn fun.
The dems ain't any better than the pubes. Both love the war (they fund it dont they), love the tax cuts for the rich (heard one talk repeal lately), couldn't care less about YOUR son or daughter getting all fucked up in Iraq (none of their kids are over their and their ain't gonna be a draft, and even if there was, theirs ain't goin), don't give a shit about your health problems (get PRIVATE ins. and make our big contributors RICH), blah, blah, blah. The list is endless. I get the feeling that a few of the people on this blog actualy do give a shit, but most just bitch for sport. This country is a fucked up piece of shit that deserves whatever it gets. We treat the rest of the world like shit, some day the bill will come due....
The only rational explanation is the Dems must know something we don't.But that doesn't excuse them for anything.Surely they must know whats at stake....THE FUTURE OF THE COUNTRY!
Another way to look at it is that it's about $1million per Iraqi. Think we could have bribed them or that much?
Why do the Republicans want to destroy this country and our Constitution? That's what I can't understand. Because it is destroyed. It's not a decent place anymore. It's like one big prison camp where the prisoners think they can just walk away anytime. But we can't. No one wants us. We have become lepers. I don't think we deserve this. We have worked hard, played by the rules, sent our kids off to college to get a good job. But the jobs have gone. And we go to the store and find toys, food and clothing, things we used to make, made in China or East Bunglefuck. Even expensive brands are now made in foreign lands where the wages are pennies an hour and the working conditions are, well, like slavery. And no regulations. Is this what we are to become? Just another slave-wage state?
Even Hitler never had it so good as Bush. He only dreamed of the possibilities. Bush is living them.
Man, this thing ate my smart-ass comment.
Well hell folks... no wonder we can't have decent health care, or decent schools, or decent jobs.. or decent government or a decent country anymore... or anything decent... But plenty of homeless and thats definitely a growth industry nowadays...
8 grand for every man, woman, and child... and for how long??
Infinity maybe... infinity plus one yea think??? I'm waitin to see how they will they figure out a way to make the ones still in the womb have to cough up bucks too... Maybe Bernancke has an idea or two on that.... If not him surely uncle Pauly Wolfowizz has a way....
Hell, why wait till they pop out of the oven to stick em with this bill.... IF they ain't big enough yet to send over there to get their head blown off for the preznits amusement (Yea, I said that and I ain't apologizin) they can step up and pay for it to happen...along with the rest of us... whether they or we want to or not.....
Fucking insane bullshit from the same serial liars who spent a generation and a half selling the cockamamie notion that 'they' are 'fiscally responsible'....yea,..... And I'm the fucking tooth fairy, ............JD
Besides all the crap reasons BushCo. has come up with for his war in Iraq; if truth be told it is for oil, of course, and his intention to literally bankrupt the USA. I believe the neocons want to bankrupt the nation so that all we can pay for is our national security. They hate all FDR programs, public schools, etc. The pro-lifers want death for everybody except for zigots.
emerald @ 24:
now that's a good one, haven't heard that one before....hahaha
What a bunch of cowards! They can't even show up to hear the horrible truth. Why does any Democrat ever feel that he/she has to apologize to this warmongering evil party? Bush may have divided our country so deeply that no one will be able to put us together again. It is two Americas, the war loving, humanity hating ones and the other Americans who range from angry to confused by it all. How could George Bush destroy everything in seven years? He is the new plague! How can we wait one more year to solve this problem? We'll be 20,000 feet under and submerged in debt!
"And that does not include the interest on the foreign loans being used to finance it so that the top 1% can still enjoy their tax cuts."
Actually, it says right in the first paragraph of the Forbes article that the $2.4 trillion figure does include the debt usury. Not that that makes it better...
Lollimom @ 22:
LOL, I am sure the Iraqi dead and maimed will take solace in the fact that the people, from the country which has managed to bring hell on earth in a most undeserved of fashion, are real nice stand up kind of people. You know the kind of society which asks pretty please as they bomb the shit out of you.
And them native Americans were marveled about how nice those pale faces were as they stole their land and decimate their numbers. I mean those reservations sure are nice!
And the Mexicans are so happy to be working for peanuts for those nice Americans. The nice stand up folk that took half of Mexico and now consider them Mexicans illegals in the very own land their ancestors used to own!
And it looks as if the nice American people can find the billions to pay for bombs, and not a single cent to pay for the health care of their very own children. I am sure most foreigners sure do wish they were as nice as the masses of Americans who are not only OK with having a for profit health care, but would rather insert white hot iron rods up their rectums that contemplate a single of their precious tax dollars being put to use to help someone else.
Of course, the nice American folk who re-elected Bush. Who have managed to prosecute exactly 0 people in this criminal cabal, and yet they have one of the largest inmate populations on earth. The same people who are OK with having the right to bear arms, execute people, yet consider health care to be a privilege not a right. You know the same bunch of merry fellows who claims to be the most religious society on the industrialized world but donates the least to charity on a per capita basis. It is sure the hallmark of niceness to be the nation who spends more on weapons than the rest of the top military powers combined. You know the same people who owe the most money to the UN, and who are all to happy to piss on the Geneva Convection, torture people since they are soooo nice, and pretty much give the middle finger to international treaty after treaty.
We obviously must have a different definition of "nice," in the rest of the English speaking countries I think they use the word "assehole." Yeah, I am sure them foreigners are scared shitless about laughing at the karma of a nation of selfish assholes that has been pissing on every body else's heads for the better part of a century.
As the old adagio goes, you reap what you sew. Good luck! There are some great American people, nice, educated, worldly, and compassionate. They are it seems a minority, God bless their souls having to be surrounded by such collection of uneducated, selfish, maroons. Yeeehhaaaaaa!
CALBLUE61 @ 55:
Actually he offered to get the heck out of dodge if the US was to pay him and his family for a nice subsidy, errr exile. I think the figure was a bit over $100 million. Now... I am no business man, but I think that Bush must have missed that class about cost effective investments during his MBA days of wine and roses.
There must have been few people who can rival the stupidity of the average American. $2trillion and all they got is some stupid yellow ribbon made in China. No wonder the economy is in the shiter. With business "visionaries" like Bush at the helm! Of course, Bush and his cronies have made out like bandits from this little adventures. Probably the single biggest funneling of public capital into a few private hands. In other parts of the world that is called robbery. Americans however, as I said, for the most part are hell bent in setting some sort of record for collective stupidity. Mussolini ended up sleeping like a vampire for stealing far less....
cleo @ 56:
Well, it should not come as a surprise as that is textbook right wing MO; "If you ignore it, it doesn't exist."
WTF? "We're sorry. This video is no longer available."
Who took it down?
I want my $8,000 back! I never said you could kill people with my money!
What scares me isn't bush or rush or coulter, it is the idiots who after all this still support CONservatism ? Are people that stupid and apathetic? A lot of people I work with parrot the idiot line of the day. Today I heard someone say Al Queda started the CA fires, Iraq is working and global warming while it might be true has nothing to do with humans. Even when prestented with pictures, video, facts, quotes or sources they head into denial mode.
How someone can claim to be a patriot and be a GOPig is the biggest CON game since the shell game.
Jo @ 51:
It's so bad that I heard Cuban and the Dominican Republic turned away American boat people.
Dr. Who @ 59:
"There must have been few people who can rival the stupidity of the average American. "
Yes, well I'd just like to take this opportunity to say, "fuck you too sweetheart". You know, as an average American.
It is funny, though, that you accuse Americans of all being stupid, apparently resent that fact that his country exits, and paint Mussolini as a saint by comparison. Well, without America (warts and all) you'd have him. Or rather, you'd have had the syphilitic, insane Hitler, after Germany crushed Mussolini like a bug. Certainly all of Europe would have fallen, had we stayed neutral as everyone wanted to. (Turns out we guessed right to intervene on that one. But you can't be right all the time).
But why stop there? Since America is made up of ALL nationalities on earth, and is still one of the most tolerant countries to have existed (again, warts and all), why not go even further back and insult all the Danes, Russians, Greeks, Iraqis, Maori, Navajo, Australians, Peruvians, Japanese and on and on?
Babbling about historical wrongs really doesn't have jack to do with the "average American" today. We are diverse, and (here's a real shocker) can end up with really bad leadership. Guess that just doesn't happen in other countries, huh?
Perhaps you can enlighten me on the spotless background of your own country then? Well? Where is it that you live that you can throw such rocks at others? Where they passive in the face of great evil toward others? Were they ever shamefully aggressive of others or even their own people?
Nevermind, the answer is "yes", wherever you live. That's called being human. It doesn't have anything to do with being American. And it is entirely possible that America will withdraw and become isolationist again, allowing some other smart ass to lead world affairs.
You might want to be careful what you wish for.
Jo @ 51:
Too True.......I can't think of one country that still has a favorable view of us....
Who are the people who think the US was innocent before chimpy's war?
GTFOOH
swarmofkillermonkeys @ 65:
Good on ya Swarm.....I'd like to know where this asshat lives.....just for comparison
tHeGaMeOfLiFe @ 67:
And what country is?
You've been here long enough to know how we feel...you know "Stolen Election" and all.What do you think these people have been trying to achieve.We go back decades.....and we'll be here for decades more.....we can't always win...certainly not when the opposition resorts to criminal tactics....we are nothing more than the voice of the working class people......you know.......no one.
Boy oh boy that's alot of borrowed money.
Am I the only one who wants the following investigated?
Consider this: George W. Bush is working with Al Quada, whose primary goal is to bankrupt the U.S.
An estimated cost of Bush's War is 2.4 TRILLION dollars. Take into account the state of our military - competing with Black Water - and you've got an episode of "24" that is arguably accurate.
Shouldn't this be researched & reported?
I hope they don't come and get me.
PurplePatriot @ 10:
You said it and excellent question!!!
Dr. Who Says:
Right on! @ 72:
believe me....want to but nobody is listening.
And this is really only a small part of the story. These numbers are drastically underestimated. Iraq and Afghanistan have a combined population of nearly 58 million, prewar numbers. Even our most optimistic estimates indicate that 1 million Iraqis and Afghans have been killed while we have spent just shy of 1 trillion dollars. At this rate it will take another 57 trillion dollars to kill all of the Iraqis...er terrorists.
Where are the efficiency experts when you need them?
WE ARE A NATION OF WAR CRIMINALS
Sadly, from the neo-con point of view the war DID pay for itself. All their slimy campaigns, buckets of "contributions" and jiggling of the rules have paid off in spades.
For them.
mudshark @ 69:
I was referring to another poster. I was too lazy to go back and find the post.
mudshark @ 74:
Hello mudshark...I'm in a better mood tonight.
This war is not costing us a penny! Doesn't cost us our conscience or lack of sleep, doesn't cost us any sacrifice of our wealth or lack of shopping at the mall. The Iraqi people should be please that we are using their wealth to pay for every bullets and bombs on their land. Now the un-war part is costing us dearly, with the repeated reconstruction of the public infrastructure. Building cheap shoddy unsafe building with no accountability of where the money was spent has been very costly with no end in sight nor any action to rectify the stealing. Paying for Mercs to tear up the trust and faith of our soldier to the Iraqi people is costing us so much still.
I think this country is done for, as its not the lying of our govt leader from both side that bother me, its the blatant in your face lies that they don't even care what the people think.
Add that to the 2.3 trillion that was missing on 9/10, the day before 9/11. Rumsfeld reported this to congress.
"Rumsfeld promised change but the next day – Sept. 11-- the world changed and in the rush to fund the war on terrorism, the war on waste seems to have been forgotten. " - CBS Evening News
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/main325985.shtml
How convenient for the Bush administration.
Has anyone looked for this missing 2.3 trillion or did everyone forget about it through their Prozac/Zoloft induced comas?