Iraq war costs could top $1 trillion

[Judi Lynn]

Iraq war costs could top $1 trillion
Wed Dec 6, 2006 4:23 PM GMT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Democratic co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group said on Wednesday that America's ability to resolve the crisis in Iraq is narrowing and the costs could rise to more than $1 trillion (508 million pounds).

At a news conference to release the bipartisan group's long-awaited report, former Rep. Lee Hamilton said, "The current approach is not working and the ability of the United States to influence events is diminishing."

"No course of action in Iraq (is) guaranteed to stop a slide towards chaos. Yet, in our view, not all options have been exhausted."

Hamilton also said the high-level panel concluded the U.S. costs "could well rise over a $1 trillion."
(snip/)

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?storyid=2006-12-06T162233Z_01_WAT006679_RTRUKOC_0_UK-IRAQ-USA-GROUP-HAMILTON.xml&type=worldNews&WTmodLoc=World-C3-More-2

[kenny blankenship]

1. All the debt of WWII with none of the victory over Fascism

and ALSO none of the postwar positive balance of trade to quickly pay down that debt.
Wow Way to go George! Your Nazi forebears would be so proud of you for managing to destroy this country from inside.

[saigon68]

7. PISSING AWAY $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

DISGUSTING

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. We could have bought every American adult

a hybrid car and a solar panel for their house instead and we wouldn't need Iraq's oil.

[Kelvin Mace]

4. And a pony for all of the media cheerleaders

[Kelvin Mace]

3. I made this prediction a year ago.

The war will short exceed the cost of Vietnam, then World War II.

[Tempest]

5. Could? It already has.

When you calculate in the cost of treating the wounded, the long term care many U.S. soldiers are going to require and replacing worn out equipment, the cost surpassed $1 trillion already.

The war will cost over $2 trillion before it's all said and done.

[superconnected]

6. Biggest financial disaster a US pres has ever made.

He even topped raygun.

at least when raygun was blowing money, he was buying something.

This money is completely getting thrown away to collusive contracts. Not that rayguns weren't collusive.

[eppur_se_muova]

8. Actually, $508 BILLION pounds.

confusion between UK billion (1,000,000,000,000 = 1 US trillion) vs US billion (1,000,000,000 = UK milliard).

[truthisfreedom]

9. We could have had all new Federal highways. Or developed alternative energy sources

and implemented them all over the country. Everyone could have had solar panels on their roofs. at $15,000 per setup (large system) that would have been enough for 67 million homes. At $50M/mile, 20,000 miles of light-rail transit could have been built... enough for 200 US cities to have so much coverage that few would need to drive to work anymore.

It just boggles the mind that we allowed bushco to create an irrepairable debacle in the Mideast while wasting so much money.

[Doctor_J]

10. Your kids', grandkids', and great grandkids' medicare and SS given to

Halliburton. I wonder if history will show Smirk to be even more evil than Stalin.

[MichiganVote]

11. And just think, we get to pay the oil companies for this bullshit too

[bemildred]

12. "Will", not "could". Bet the farm on it.

And don't forget that Social Security is going broke and we cannot afford national single-payer health care, and all our jobs have to go overseas to save money.

[IndianaGreen]

13. Many of our veterans will require life-long care and treatment

that's one cost that cannot be pinned down.

[depakid]

14. Nobel prizewinner Joseph Stiglitz's study suggests it could be double

that- at this point when everything is accounted for.

That's trillion. 12 zero's, not including change.

$2,000,000,000,000

http://www2.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jstiglitz/cost_of_war_in_iraq.pdf

Summary article: http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1681119,00.html

[kenny blankenship]

18. I even saw that 2 T figure bandied about on CNN today

while they were discussing the ISG report's release.

[Lasthorseman]

15. Yes, but more than money spent

we have also decended into a quasi Stasi like society. Getting groped at airports, having to stand in lines, lining up to get chip implanted. The Pavlovian conditioning opportunities we well worth it don't you agree?

[Sapere aude]

16. Halliburton is thrilled.

[BlueEyedSon]

17. Not new news