A trillion here, a trillion there
By Steve Benen Thursday Oct 25, 2007 7:22amWhen dealing with the cost of the president’s policies in the Middle East, at the top of the priority list is the human cost, with Americans who’ve lost their lives, and thousands more who have suffered serious injuries.
But there are also financial costs to consider, and they are staggering.
The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could total $2.4 trillion through the next decade, or nearly $8,000 per man, woman and child in the country, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate scheduled for release today.
A previous CBO estimate put the wars’ costs at more than $1.6 trillion. This one adds $705 billion in interest, taking into account that the conflicts are being funded with borrowed money. [...]
Assuming that Iraq accounts for about 80% of that total, the Iraq war would cost $1.9 trillion, including $564 million in interest, said Thomas Kahn, Spratt’s staff director. The committee holds a hearing on war costs this morning.
The White House budget office said Congress was trying to “artificially inflate war funding levels.” Asked how much the administration thinks the war actually costs, the White House budget office refused to say. What a surprise.
Two other quick angles to consider. First, let’s not forget that the Bush gang was asked how much they estimated the war in Iraq would cost. Administration officials said it would be no more than $50 billion. Oops.
Second, the House Budget Committee held a hearing today to discuss the $2.4 trillion price tag. Republican lawmakers on the committee didn’t show up.
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$8,000.00 per person. Looks like time for another round of for-the-rich tax cuts.
guesstimate of the cost of the war made before the war started
http://www.youtube.com/v/jxzXo78WqSM
tofubo @ 2:
You mean the war that was going to pay for itself?!
Umm.... Guys, guess what? We are paying for Bush's massively inflationary
policy right now through a collapsing dollar. Guess why oil is near 100/barel?
Its not ME tension, its money printing to pay for the war and banker bailout.
Please please, this is happening now! Pay attention! Go to
DollarCollapse.com to see this in real time, today! Get educated and vote RON PAUL!
I recall an interview that was given by Wolfowitz's deputy in the Iraq debacle runup where he states that 1.6 billion was budgeted for the war and they were certain that Iraq's oil revenue would be substantial enough that nowhere near the 1.6 b. would be used.
S. Levy @ 5:
Wouldn't it be great if it were ONLY 1.6 b?
WHAT A BARGAIN. :(
Perino is polishing her pontifical on the benefits of humongous deficits, stressing the patriotic incentives it will give the millions of as-yet-unborn americans during the next century (the 22nd century) to work their asses off to pay the debt inheritance left to them by the 21st century Bushits.
I wonder if she'll mention the enormous demand to piss on the graves of The Dummy and DickHead.
Hey, there's an idea. If we impeached them, cremated them, divided their ashes among a couple of dozen gravesites across the US, put coin-operated pissoirs above their graves, what the hell, we could pay off the deficit, pay for health care, educate the kids, become a reality-based society,......
Let's see, 10/pees/day, 300+M people, $1/pee, .....It looks promising.
I got my $2
When dealing with the cost of the president’s policies in the Middle East, at the top of the priority list is the human cost, with Americans who’ve lost their lives, and thousands more who have suffered serious injuries. ---->While this is true, and we all know it, I also resent that if you don't say it, people will swarm in and say you don't support the troops and are unpatriotic.
That said, $2.4 trillion could result in lots of other problems. No healthcare, infrastructure neglect, poor disaster relief, and a host of other seroius issues which way also result in death and injury. It also leaves the nation very unprepared for the UNEXPECTED. And we all know, that does happen in life.
But Bush told us that Iraqi oil would pay for the war! I can't believe that Bush would lie, just to get Congress to look the other way so he could invade Iraq because of 9/11 . . . .
You know, I've been thinking, and ----> At one point, your debt will be so high, it'll be cheaper to start a world war, and negate it, than pay it back. Hmmm...
"But there are also financial costs to consider, and they are staggering."
I spent years in the states. Most of the eighties, and part of the nineties. Loved the place, and virtually all of the people I met there.
I hope this war breaks your fucking backs, financially at least.
Wow, just imagine if that money was going towards fighting terrorism!
"with Americans who’ve lost their lives, and thousands more who have suffered serious injuries."
Just one question: since when do we care about the well-being of an invading volunteer army? I know, those poor Waffen-SS soldiers had enormous losses, too. But personally, I'd feel more sorry of those 17 million civilians who died in the Eastern Front, and the 70 000-600 000 (depends, who you believe) Iraqi civilians in this conflict. Tough as it sounds those precious "American lives" were lost on an illegal, murderous war -and they were the aggressors. In this war the Iraqis are the good guys.
You are just as racists and hypocrites as the Neocon Nazis.
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