400 Billion and Counting - Cost of War in Iraq Escalates - The Money Spent Could Have Been Used to Help Find Cure For Cancer or to Fix Medicare

May 9th 2006

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A recent article reported that a General said we are making progress training Iraqi police. I think most people are grateful there is progress being made somewhere in Iraq amidst all the killings and bombings. But it begs the question: At what cost? The San Francisco Chronicle reported that rough estimates put the current expenditures for the war in Iraq at $400 billion.

We have spent so much money that we have to round the number of to roughly 400 billion. The sad thing is that it is not over yet. Will the expenditures exceed 1 trillion dollars? 2 Trillion? God only knows how many people will be killed in Iraq and what future retaliation against Americans will occur.

Even sadder is the fact that the money could have been used to help find a cure for cancer, or to help pay of the debt, or to fix Social Security or Medicare. Or maybe the money didn’t need to be spent in the first place. Either way, the tragedy goes beyond the lives lost on both sides and the destruction of a country. Comment on this article at our Forum

The war should never have started, but the build-up and threats made by President Bush ensured there would be action taken. Saddam produced detailed evidence chronicling the demolition of his Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). He produced the evidence days ahead of the set deadline and even made it available in a CD format for reporters.

The problem was that we had already convinced the world that he was a threat, and had already made agreements with our allies for military jump points and support. We were poised to attack and it was “now or never”. So we invaded.

OK, everyone can make a mistake, and the president is no exception. The war should have ended after we apprehended Saddam and verified either the existence or non-existence of WMD. But it didn’t. The war turned into an occupation.

Now the news broadcasts are similar to broadcasts produced during the Vietnam War: Dead soldiers, dead civilians, destruction of property and no end in sight. Generals are doing their duty by reporting every ounce of progress. Thank God Americans are starting to realize that it is time to pull out. It is not about whether the President lied or not. There is no criminal proof either way. What matters is what we do now.