Paul Krugman: David Broder actually calls for war with Iran as a economic recovery strategy.

[Better Believe It]

Wag The Dean
By Paul Krugman
October 31, 2010

A few weeks back I had fun with people who tried to turn my assertion that World War II ended the Great Depression into an accusation that I was a warmonger. Heh.

But today, David Broder actually calls for war with Iran as a recovery strategy.

All the more important to remember, then, that he’s a Very Serious Person, and I’m not.

The war recovery?
By David S. Broder
October 31, 2010

What else might affect the economy? The answer is obvious, but its implications are frightening. War and peace influence the economy.

Look back at FDR and the Great Depression. What finally resolved that economic crisis? World War II.

Here is where Obama is likely to prevail. With strong Republican support in Congress for challenging Iran's ambition to become a nuclear power, he can spend much of 2011 and 2012 orchestrating a showdown with the mullahs. This will help him politically because the opposition party will be urging him on. And as tensions rise and we accelerate preparations for war, the economy will improve.

I am not suggesting, of course, that the president incite a war to get reelected. But the nation will rally around Obama because Iran is the greatest threat to the world in the young century. If he can confront this threat and contain Iran's nuclear ambitions, he will have made the world safer and may be regarded as one of the most successful presidents in history.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/29/AR2010102907404.html

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/?8dpc

[Angry Dragon]

1. There is aproblem with this

China is a bigger threat
and do not forget N. Korea

Iran just has oil ..... that is why this is being pushed

[Better Believe It]

6. So should we jack up the political rhetoric for a big war with China and/or Korea?

I hope not.

And let's not sucked into any kind of zenophobic and nativist Chinese bashing.

While we have nothing in common with the Chinese capitalists, we also have nothing in common with the born in the U.S.A. variety.

So Chinese and American workers should just let "our" corporate tycoons argue among themselves, without us taking sides, and let's instead support and make common cause with each other to improve our lives as we take on "our" capitalists.

Let Broder and other reactionaries beat the drums for war.

[onethatcares]

2. yeah, we've seen how well two other wars have stimulated the

economy. The Afgan economy for Karzai and his buddies that is.

Screw david broder, or better yet, give him a gun and put him on Iranian soil somewhere in the mountains. Let's see how well he does.

[Enrique]

3. isn't Iran allied with Iraq now?

war with Iran might mean war with Iraq again.

[tabatha]

4. I will say it again. Sick

How far have some in a society sunk if they think destroying others is the best way to make a buck.

[malaise]

5. So how did those two wars with Afghanistan and

Iraq loot the treasury.

[asjr]

7. David Broder has said stupid things before,

most pundits do, but I feel he has gone a little too far this time. Forget that he said "I am not suggesting, of course, that the president incite a war, . . ." Of course he is suggesting it. Broder is a member of the media.

[leveymg]

8. Broder seems to forget that the last Persian Gulf stimulus bankrupted the U.S.

What would be any different with Iran, except the costs and casualties would be ten times as high.

David Broder is a Putz. A serious putz.

[kenny blankenship]

17. Dr. Strangelove walks

For Broder & other imperialists, invading Iran is now necessary to redeem the sunk costs of the Iraq-Afpak quagmire. It will all come out to the good, it can STILL come out to the good, but only if we wade the rest of the way through the gulley of furriners' blood. If only we would have the WILL to succeed, all our dreams can come true.

[mod mom]

20. What's next a (Jeb) Bush 12' campaign to get this madness on the table?

:mad:

[GreenTea]

9. This old fuck republican kiss-ass Broder who'll be dead soon wants for our planet more wars, killing

of more innocent people, soldiers dying & maimed, more destruction of another country that of course just happens to to have lots and lots of OIL - Just so corporations can get even richer than the filthy rich corporations already are....

Why......so we the workers may get the republicans "voodoo economics" some "trickle down" money from the lying greedy corporations which of course NEVER occurred from the past two on going wars for corporate profits (Iraq & Afghanistan).....it's just more corporate bullshit meant for us peons as the rich get richer.

Just as we peons always want to believe the republicans bullshit, about (the still in effect) tax cuts for the rich, that the tax cuts will create more jobs, as the deficit raising, no jobs produced, ten year Bush tax cuts for the richest 2% - produced NO jobs....as we can ALL see very clearly today just by looking around.....But the rich certainly got and are still getting richer!

Broder "concerns" about Iran's "nuclear ambition" is the same republican rhetoric & bullshit, meant as a smokescreen for the thinly disguised republican bullshit....its really ALL about OIL, imperialism and corporate profits - What a disgusting little lying degenerate weasel is David Broder!

Broder is and has always been an imbecile, a narrowed mined elitist, a short-sighed waste of space PIG! - I am not the least bit religious, however, I pray each day David Broder and his species will die as soon as possible for the good of the people and our planet!

Cheers to the great Paul Krugman!

[ishaneferguson]

10. Breaking Iran's Bank Could Boost Our Economy

As pointed out above

Iran just has oil ..... that is why this is being pushed

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9428507&mesg_id=9428539>Angry Dragon, There is a problem with this

this is a resource war. We can WIN the resource war by initiating a "Manhattan Project" level of effort to do the engineering development (the research has been done) to wean us from oil.

The $ cost of whipping Iran is probably about 100 times the $ cost of a successful "Manhattan Project" level of effort to replace oil.

Remember, the PhD's are being hit by this recession - http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=9427680&mesg_id=9427680 >The Highly Educated Homeless

[NNN0LHI]

11. Broder knows Americans generally love war

That is why we are still involved in two of them right now.

Don

[Gabi Hayes]

12. is the Post getting his columns from the alzheimer's unit of his nursing home?

my dad had it, so I know whereof I speak

[xxqqqzme]

13. Why? the two current invasions and occupations

have done nothing for the current economy.

[Better Believe It]

15. We clearly need three, four, many wars to "jump start" the economy or

to gut social services.

[Hardrada]

14. Another neocon scumbag.

Lock them all up in a deep dungeon and throw the key into the nearest lake.

[JDPriestly]

16. I disagree with the analysis that WWII brought the end to the

Great Depression. I believe that we would have recovered anyway, had we done what we did to win that war without being at war.

And what did we do? As a nation, we joined together in an effort to use our resources wisely to meet common goals. We could have built infrastructure here and abroad and achieved the same effect.

It was not the killing and destruction in WWII that ended the Depression but the huge government expenditures in the war material.

We don't need a war to once again invest as a nation in renewing our industrial, manufacturing and infrastructure base. We just need the will to work together -- private industry and the government at all levels need to work together.

There is no assurance that a war with Iran at this time would lift our economy.

Our core problem is our trade deficit and not just the numbers shown in the trade deficit but the social deficit that our trade deficit reflects -- a deficit in jobs and services.

It is the fact that we buy not just our raw materials, our oil, our copper, etc. from other nations, but that on top of that we buy most of our manufactured goods from other countries.

That was not the case in the pre-WWII era. We were a major oil producer. We had a magnificent manufacturing sector.

How many factories are there in your town? Do they make the socks that soldiers wear? Do they make helmets? Yes, they make planes. But how are we to keep the planes in the air? By importing more oil?

How will importing more oil, buying socks and other military gear and equipment from overseas trigger recovery in the U.S.? They won't. A war would just drive us deeper into debt.

I think about the businessman who, in the early 2000s borrowed against the equity of his house in order to compete with Walmart. Guess who lost -- and not just his business, but also his home. Last I heard, they were repossessing his car.

That is where we would be headed if we borrowed to buy the material to fight yet another war. Talk about insanity.

Our nation is in trouble. And, yes, we need to start working together as we did during WWII. But fighting yet another war will just drag us further down. We have to do what other nations are doing and rebuild our manufacturing sector and bring the jobs, not the dead bodies, home.

[Better Believe It]

19. The destruction of the industrial base in western Europe helped a lot.

The United States capitalists had little or no serious competition for almost 30 years.

[moondust]

18. Was the invasion of Iraq a Republican jobs program?

Seriously.