Featured Advertisers
Snow Closings
Wed, Feb. 10  -   -  Mobile  -  RSS
YOUR TOWN:  Caroline | Culpeper | King George | Fredericksburg | Orange | Spotsylvania | Stafford | Westmoreland
  

Make a post about this story on FredTalk. Get a printer-friendly version of this page. E-mail this story to a friend.

Costs of Iraq war are unbearably high

Date published: 6/11/2007

Donald Rumsfeld's estimate for the cost of the Iraq war was $50 billion. The actual cost to date is about $450 billion, climbing at the rate of about $275 million a day.

These are only the operating costs. They do not reflect the billions more that will be needed after the war ends--billions to re-equip and retrain the military to get readiness back to the pre-war level, higher recruiting costs because large bonuses are necessary to get people to enlist or re-enlist, or interest on the war debt.

Long-term medical costs alone could be $400 billion or more--and that amount does not include lifetime disability payments of another $150 billion or more. Total long-term costs of the Iraq war are now estimated at $1 trillion to $2 trillion.

This incomprehensible figure does not reflect the sacrifice borne solely by the million or so families whose children and grandchildren risk becoming the dead and maimed while the rest of us are asked for nothing.

It does not reflect the death and misery we have unleashed on the Iraqis, that faceless irrelevance deprived by our government of even the simple dignity of being counted.

It does not reflect the loss of American prestige or the instability, chaos, and needless creation of additional enemies.

War apologists would have us believe that Saddam was so evil that removing him was worth any cost. That is simply nonsense.

It is moral and political cowardice to allow this travesty to continue and its architects to go unpunished.

Barry Clark Stafford



Follow us on
twitter
fredericksburg.com Facebook page


Date published: 6/11/2007


Most recent reader comments:

Viewing all 4 comments. (Sorted in reverse order, with most recent post at the top.)

Display comments on this page. | Sort:

PLEASE READ: These reader comments are not moderated. Each user is solely responsible for any message (s)he posts here. The Free Lance-Star does not endorse the views expressed within these comments. All users who post to this Web site must agree to the terms of the FredTalk User Agreement. We rely on our readers to police themselves, and report any content that violates our User Agreement. In accordance with our User Agreement, we reserve the right to remove any post at any time for any reason, and will restrict access of registered users who repeatedly violate our terms. Any reader can report inappropriate content by clicking the "Report this post to admins" link at the bottom of each comment. You need not be registered to report a post.

15% of fighters are al Qaeda (posted by rrwwsmith , Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)   
This 15% is an estimate that comes from our own intelligence. That we are in a religious civil war is well known. Al Qaeda was NOT a force in Iraq until we arrived. As occupiers we are now the hated Christian army. We don't speak the language and we don't know the culture very well. The Iraqi's, most Americans, and most folks world-wide wonder why we are STILL there. No WMD, no Saddam, right? Most believe that building a huge embassy in Baghdad is a sign that oil is the reason. Clark and I served.

To Phantom_twit (posted by Padfoot , Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)   
As someone who has served in the military I would tell you that you are very lucky that there are people who are willing to defend your right to speak your mind, no matter how ridiculous your message is. It seems like you all believe that we are fighting people who are merely defending their home, this is ludicrous. These are foreign fighters bent on destroying as many Americans as possible, that includes you.

Ends justify the waste of your $$$ chump (posted by phantom_twit , Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)   
Iraq is too valuable, in the minds of America’s elite and her corporatists, to simply walk away from. It will act as America’s aircraft carrier, the easier to patrol the world’s most strategic region. In time, Iraq will be used to invade, threaten, hold hostage and/or conquer the oil fields of Iran and those of the central Asian basin. Iraq is today the gateway towards attaining the Empire the elite and the delusional have always envisioned. It is the gateway towards power, control and untold wealth.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Continuing (posted by rrwwsmith , Sep. 25, 2007 2:41 pm)   
Thank you Mr. Clark! Some time ago a helpful person suggested that I make two lists when faced with a difficult decision. He said to draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper and simply list advantages of continuing and the disadvantages in the other column. As citizens we can do this. Mr. Clark has given us an excellant start.

What do you think?
Enter your FredTalk username and password to post a comment on this story. If you are registered on FredTalk or another part of this site, use that login here. Otherwise, you can just REGISTER here... .

Posting guidelines

1. Be respectful. No personal attacks.
2. Please avoid offensive, vulgar, abusive, hateful or defamatory language.
3. Agree to read & follow THE RULES.
4. Use the "report to admins" link for posts which violate the rules.

Username:
Password:

Post title:


Please keep it brief: (512-character limit)
Please make sure CAPS LOCK is off. Posts in ALL CAPS will be deleted.)


By checking this box, you agree to the terms of the FredTalk User agreement.