The Forever War: Four Trillion and Counting

In George Orwell's 1984, the world is divided into three countries which constantly war with each other. The countries will randomly switch alliances: Eurasia will end its alliance with Oceania, and become an ally of Eastasia. Of course, Oceania was never an ally of Eurasia, this is a lie of saboteurs. The point is that the war never ends because War empowers the rulers to deceive the ruled. It seems that we are in the same situation today. Of course we are not to mention the fact that America used to be an ally of Iraq, oh no. Do not forget that, "War Is Peace." 

It is not clear how much longer we can afford the warfare state-not and maintain the welfare state. Bloomberg gives us an estimate of the cost of just one of these wars, the war in Iraq:  

The nine-year-old Iraq war came to an official end on Thursday, but paying for it will continue for decades until U.S. taxpayers have shelled out an estimated $4 trillion.

This was not what we were told:

Near the start of the war, the U.S. Defense Department estimated it would cost $50 billion to $80 billion. White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey was dismissed in 2002 after suggesting the price of invading and occupying Iraq could reach $200 billion.

“The direct costs for the war were about $800 billion, but the indirect costs, the costs you can’t easily see, that payoff will outlast you and me,” said Lawrence Korb, a senior fellow at American Progress, a Washington, D.C. think tank, and a former assistant secretary of defense under Ronald Reagan. 

What are these costs? 

Those costs include interest payments on the billions borrowed to fund the war; the cost of maintaining military bases in Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to defend Iraq or reoccupy the country if the Baghdad government unravels; and the expense of using private security contractors to protect U.S. property in the country and to train Iraqi forces.

Caring for veterans, more than 2 million of them, could alone reach $1 trillion, according to Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, in Congressional testimony in July.

Big SisterHow much will this cost? Ultimately we have no idea. My guess is that it will be less because we will not keep our commitment to the Veterans. I am not saying this is a good thing, but I am saying we do not have the money. 

Was the War worth 4 trillion and the eventual bankruptcy of the country? Was it worth 2 Trillion? Was it worth 1 trillion? Was it worth one dollar?

The reason I ask if it is worth one dollar is that what we do in the Middle East just makes things worse. The US government supported the "Arab Spring." In Egypt the result was an election where the Moslem Brotherhood with the even more conservative parties got 60% of the vote. In Libya the rebels fly the Al Qaida flag. What will happen if the US Government replaces the current Syrian government? We can assume that it will not be good. 

The CIA and the English MI-6 replaced the democratically elected government in Iran with the Shah. The people hated him. Now we have a different government in Iran. How is that working out for the US? 

Sunday I posted a video that supported Ron Paul. I suppose I endorsed him by my use of the video. Tomorrow I will talk about his foreign policy, which is not isolationism, but non-interventionism. But ultimately the arguments either way are moot. As I have been pointing out recently, we do not have the money. 

Do not forget that "War is Peace," "Freedom is Slavery," and "Ignorance is Strength." 

Comments

[Eric Anderson]

If what I heard on the John Batchelor show is any indication, the Egyptian military may not be willing to relinquish power. So one dictator is traded for another. It's probably all about money. If the military stays in power and keeps its agreement with Israel, we give them money.

I agree with the decision to take out Saddam, but certainly not with the way it was handled, which was excessively costly. We should have demanded some payback through share of oil profits until we received at least $50 billion. Wolfowitz said the war would pay for itself. Of course, he is either a fantasist or a dirty liar. Or both.