March 18, 2007
IF WE JUST TITHED FOR FREEDOM WE COULD LIBERATE 9 MORE NATIONS:
Iraq war cost near $500 billion (MATT CRENSON, 3/17/07, Chicago Sun-Times)
After four years, America's cost for the war in Iraq has reached nearly $500 billion -- more than the total for the Korean War and nearly as much as 12 years in Vietnam, adjusting for inflation. The cost could reach $1 trillion or more.But even though the war has turned out to be much more expensive than Bush administration officials predicted, it is relatively affordable -- at least in historical terms. Iraq eats up less than 1 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, compared with as much as 14 percent for Vietnam and 9 percent for Korea.
Regime change in Iraq was so cheap and so easy it raises the question of whether we don't have a heightened moral obligation to repeat it elsewhere. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 18, 2007 7:45 AM
Yes, sure! Moral obligation to repeat it in you own country.
Why don't you spend the money to change a government that has taken the power after a fraudulent process?
Then Americans has hypocritical behavior to teach democracy to rest of the world. That is amazing. In other words it would be better that you take care of your own business before going elsewhere to exploit the resources of other countries and make American companies get richest and richest and powerfull because, be sincere, that is the only motto of American external policies.
What USA have done in irak is a genocide.
USA talk about freedom of speech but papers cannot publish american dead soldiers, or any image that could make think the 'idiots voters' that they are loosing the war. The press during Vietnam war was not helpfull at all. Now the they know that they have to control what the people see. Is this feedom? Up to you.
If only all that maney would be used to create resources, education, hospitals. My god. This world is crazy if only 1 person could approve that the violence is the solution.
Posted by: liliana at March 18, 2007 8:25 AMOur system provides for regular change at even less cost and pain. The next presidential election will cost less than Coke's ad budget. We just happen to keep electing folks who extend the Empire of Liberty to the blighted nations abroad.
Posted by: oj at March 18, 2007 9:40 AMIt may be a cheap war, but that hasn't stopped the bureaucrats in places like the NPS from using it as an excuse for all sorts of things. (Latest I heard was that the war is the cause of the delays in the renovation of the Old Faithful Inn, even with the Green-loving Dems controlling Congress.)
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at March 18, 2007 10:23 AMliliana, we are taking care of our own biz.
Posted by: Sandy P at March 18, 2007 11:39 AMObviously, repairing the educational system in liliana's country needs to go on the todo list somewhere. Where do people get this stuff?
Posted by: Kelly at March 18, 2007 12:18 PMWe don't take care of our business - or our businesses - as well as the French.
Posted by: Mikey
at March 18, 2007 12:39 PM
Liliana, you don't know what you're talking about because all you know about us is what you're told by the media. People who come here from any and everywhere in the world are astonished at what we have done for freedom, for opportunity, for every one of our citizens.
You have passion and ambition, you should come here and see what we're about for yourself, but whatever you do, stop believing repeating the lies and media spin. It makes you sound like a fool.
You can tell the appearance of a great man by the confederacy of dunces that rises against him... the same can be said of countries. I have no doubt that in a generation or two, people will look back at this time with awe and envy at what the U.S. accomplished for democracy and for human dignity.
Posted by: lebeaux at March 18, 2007 1:36 PM"papers cannot publish american dead soldiers" Where did you hear that? There is no prohibition from the govt., only that the families of dead soldiers don't particularly like their love ones' death to be used as political fodders. There is a difference between govt. censorship, and respecting citizens' privacy. Don't believe all those Bushitler things either. If Bush were Hitler, his detractors would have been silenced. You may not realize it, but as long as there are people still equating Bush as Hitler, Americans' liberty is in pretty good shape.
Btw, at least 20 journalists were murdered for investigating their head of state, guess which head of state he/she is? Ordinary citizens are not allowed to report local violence, guess which country that is? People in certain country are sent to jail for dening the existence of certain historic horrors, which country is that? A journalist was persecuted, and had to escape to the US, which country was she from? A legislator was hounded out of her country for being a victim of violent threats, which country was she from?
Hint: None of these happened in the US under the terror reign of Bushitler.
Posted by: ic at March 18, 2007 1:47 PMHere in Michigan our war dead are mentioned in the papers. Each one's life and heroic death in the name of liberty and justice are honored publicly!
Posted by: Dave W at March 18, 2007 2:42 PM