Nobel laureate suggests war costs will exceed $3 trillion

[Newsjock]

Source: McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — When U.S. troops invaded Iraq in March 2003, the Bush administration predicted that the war would be self-financing and rebuilding the nation would cost less than $2 billion.

Coming up on the five-year anniversary of the invasion, a new estimate from a Nobel laureate puts the cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at more than $3 trillion.

That estimate from Noble Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz also serves as the title of his new book, "The Three Trillion Dollar War," which hits store shelves Friday.

... When other factors are added — such as interest on debt, future borrowing for war expenses, continued military presence in Iraq and lifetime health-care and counseling for veterans — they think that the wars' costs range from $5 trillion to $7 trillion.


Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/story/28891.html

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. So McCain condones spending $3 trillion

well I have a message for you McCain #&%^$^%^%@@@$$%%^I$OI^$O&I

[Joanne98]

2. And with the banks asking for a trillion dollar bailout, where will we get the money

for endless war all over the Earth? Will we ask the Chinese for another loan? Maybe the Saudi's will have mercy and loan us a couple more billion! ASSHOLES!

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

3. Ahh Republicans, they love small government.

[grytpype]

4. That's fine, China has plenty of money and it's our grandchildren who will have pay them back.

[mike_c]

5. the magnitude of this administration's failure is historic....

The George W. Bush doctrine: Why mess up the small stuff when you can fuck up on an epic scale? This is a man who has gone from DUI violations and ducking military obligations to fuck ups with global impact, all in one lifetime.

[dreyer]

6. 80 Trillion actually

3 Trillion is way too low. More like 80 Trillion is the cost
of the illegal regime. Figure national debt is up by 5
Trillion. Add the lost 2 Trillion that was actually supposed
to happen (predicted under a normal president), then figure
the loss of 50% of our currency value, 30 Trillion, add the
fact all the markets have gone nowhere under the monkey,
essentially where they were at the time of the stolen
election, so that is another 25 Trillion lost (figure under a
legal administration 8% market improvement per year). And
finally, add the fact the American brand is damaged for a long
time (the world hates us (thanks to the illegal monkey). This
loss of brand will cost us 18 Trillion before our name
recovers. And this is probably a low figure.

The best choice would have been, 2 billion to rebuild the Twin
Towers (which probably would have been protected under Gore)
and go after the Terrorists legally with the support of the
world and UN. Instead of the crazed, and brain damaged monkey
approach (attack the unassociated Iraq and torture people
illegally), for 80 Trillion, which is basically destroying our
country (no even close to what knocking down two buildings
could do). So like the Visa commercial says, cost of two
buildings, 2 billion, cost of 200 million "scared and
shivering Americans willing to give up there freedoms and
morals at any cost", 80 Trillion, entertainment value of
watching a monkey do a human's job, I guess it must be
priceless. What happened to the great Americans from the past?
 We've been driven to being pathetic country.

[Deny and Shred]

7. This is Bush's version of the Spanish Armada. Are we so lame?

An expenditure on a military force that will be so costly, we may never recover. In terms of Opportunity Cost, the cost is even higher. What else could we have done with that taxpayer money?
If the new Prez and Congress post Sept '08 don't take these guys to task, if he/she/they take the 'let's put it behind us' mentality, it may just be time for torches, pitchforks, what have you.
Sometimes I think I'll move to another country should all else fail, but I love this place too much. It must be taken back. Y'all are my peeps, and I can't let you fall into Fascist hands while I'm in Toronto, Oaxaca, or some such. Seriously, I may have had a few glasses of wine, but I WILL go down swinging with my Countrymen. This BushCo trash is beyond travesty.

P.S. I hope I don't regret this post later

[grahamhgreen]

8. There is a scourge on the face of humanity - war profiteering.

Like slavery was to the 1800's, war profiteering is our greatest challenge for the new millenium.

[Deny and Shred]

9. That's a quality observation. Cyclical nature of long-term view of society

I'd recently been thinking the centurial difference was the replacement of 1800's European Colonies by 20th/21st Century U.S. capitalists owning the labor of the Third World without the headache of unruly, demanding Colonists, but you may be on to something with the War Profiteering.

Seriously though, Graham Green, your handle... he's the high quality actor of American Indian descent, i.e. Thunderheart, Dances ...

You are a fan only, right? If your the man, then A) your Id is too obvious, and B) I have some questions

[DemReadingDU]

10. morning kick

[EndElectoral]

11. Here's a link to Guardian interview...more extensive on Stiglitz

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/28/iraq.afghanistan

".. ask what discoveries Stiglitz found the most disturbing. He laughs, somewhat mirthlessly. "There were actually so many things - some of it we suspected, but there were a few things I couldn't believe." The fact that a contractor working as a security guard gets about $400,000 a year, for example, as opposed to a soldier, who might get about $40,000. That there is a discrepancy we might have guessed - but not its sheer scale, or the fact that, because it is so hard to get insurance for working in Iraq, the government pays the premiums; or the fact that, if these contractors are injured or killed, the government pays both death and injury benefits on top. Understandably, this has forced a rise in sign-up bonuses (as has the fact that the army is so desperate for recruits that it is signing up convicted felons). "So we create a competition for ourselves. Nobody in their right mind would have done that. The Bush administration did that ... that I couldn't believe. And that's not included in the cost the government talks about."