Post-War Iraq Costs Soar To $70B

[dArKeR]

The Bush administration has told key members of Congress that it will be asking for up to $70 billion to fund the occupation and rebuilding of Iraq – far more than earlier estimates and coming as budget deficits continue to soar out of sight, reports CBS News Correspondent Bill Plante.

Word of the huge request, almost twice the amount lawmakers expected, came from Capitol Hill following a meeting of the president's national security advisers. The White House wasn't talking about it and neither was the secretary of state.

"I'm not prepared to get into any numbers and compare new numbers to old numbers," said Secretary of State Colin Powell on Thursday.

It's a sensitive issue for the administration, which is already under fire for having no plan for postwar Iraq. And the new budget request comes at a time when the economy is under heavy stress.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/02/24/iraq/main541815.shtml

This is nuts. American people are nuts for not being politically/financially AWARE. They think money grows on nut trees!

[cliss]

1. My comment:

Well that's one way of stopping them in their tracks, isn't it? By next year, these freewheeling spendthrifts will have gutted the US treasury, so their military adventures will come to an abrupt halt. ~~no more $$$, no more war~~~. Too bad it has to sink us in the process.

This is what happened in the USSR. They were spending proportionately more and more on the military, at the expense of social programs. Finally, they had no choice but to capitulate.

Looks like the same thing is about to happen here.

[dixiechiken]

2. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr ...

I reeeeeeeaaally hate these pricks. :mad:

From the beginning, they have acted so damn arrogant and smug, yet I can't even name ONE THING that they have done right. And the real bitch of it is that WE have to foot the bill for their fuck-ups in every way ... diplomatically, environmentally and financially.


Sons-a-bitches ... may they all rot in hell. :grr:

[indepat]

3. "Spect the Congress will be too meek as to inquire how much of this

goes/is to go to Bechtel, Halliburton, and the Carlisle Group?

[lanlady]

4. where do news organizations get these

dime store analysts?

Elsewhere, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Thursday he would not rule out sending peacekeepers to Iraq as part of an international force, a strong signal that Moscow's stance was edging closer to Washington's.

Nyet, nyet, CBS News, Russia is NOT edging toward Washington's stance. Russia is doing what it always does, saying reasonable, respectable things in public while twisting the knife in Bush's back in private.

[bluestateguy]

5. Can I opt out of paying?

They are not fighting in my name. Can I check off a box on my tax form indicating that I do not want my money used to pay for this war?

[Wickerman]

6. And people wonder why folks get tired of paying taxes

I consider it my responsibility as an american to pay taxes, but when I see misguided crap like this I think about doing some serious evading.