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(MSNBC)   Welcome to the Trillion-Dollar War   (abcnews.go.com) divider line 473
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30487 clicks; posted to Main » on 20 Apr 2006 at 7:54 PM   |  Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»



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2006-04-20 07:03:22 PM
WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE!?!?!!!!?!?!?!?!ONEONEONE
 
2006-04-20 07:04:50 PM
What is it? Social Security?

/DNTFA
 
ZAZ [TotalFark]
2006-04-20 07:10:01 PM
WW2 cost about $3 trillion adjusted for inflation.
 
2006-04-20 07:23:57 PM
I guess the cost of dying increases just as quickly as the cost of living.
 
2006-04-20 07:37:35 PM
I blame Bush
 
2006-04-20 07:40:41 PM
WW2 cost about $3 trillion adjusted for inflation.

That makes this pre-emptive war that's "gonna pay for itself" even worse.
 
2006-04-20 07:42:59 PM
ZAZ: WW2 cost about $3 trillion adjusted for inflation.

I hope I don't need to point out that WW2 was also a much bigger conflict. Our involvement was also sparked by a domestic invasion, unlike our current ghost hunting expedition in Iraq.

Um, why are we over there again? What's the Bush Administration's talking point on that this week? Oh, right -- his staff is currently being "adjusted".

/should be enough to get this started
//pulls up a chair
 
2006-04-20 07:47:19 PM
floor9: I hope I don't need to point out that WW2 was also a much bigger conflict. Our involvement was also sparked by a domestic invasion, unlike our current ghost hunting expedition in Iraq.

a good way to put it all into context. WW2 was fought in EUrope, Asia, Africa, and even on the coasts of america (okay, it was just the one attack). That was a massive conflict that involved dozens of countries, millions of soldiers and billions of tonnes of supplies.

The Iraq war involves less than 1 million troops, one country and a relatively small population (compared to WW2) directly affected by the conflict.
 
2006-04-20 07:58:33 PM
.
 
2006-04-20 07:58:43 PM
Imagine how much $1 trillion could buy.
 
2006-04-20 07:59:14 PM
$1,000,000,000,000 / 298,562,065 people in the US =

I'd like my $3,349.38 back please.
 
2006-04-20 07:59:19 PM
We had to pay for it there so we won't have to pay for it here.

/got nothing
 
2006-04-20 07:59:31 PM
What is it? Social Security?

/DNTFA

uh, why post in the forum then? I feel this deserves a "BOOBIES!"
 
2006-04-20 08:00:36 PM
Gahbrone
WW2 cost about $3 trillion adjusted for inflation.

I also remember WW2 also being a war we didn't start and also being a war we won.
 
2006-04-20 08:00:46 PM
About 100 million people died in WW2. There is just no comparison.
 
2006-04-20 08:00:49 PM
Is that why the Canadian dollar keeps rising against the American dollar?

/Vegas hookers just got cheaper for Canadians
 
2006-04-20 08:02:53 PM
saskabush

American fundamental economic health is sinking like a stone, that's why our dollar is climbing relative.
 
2006-04-20 08:03:03 PM
CanadianCommie

floor9: I hope I don't need to point out that WW2 was also a much bigger conflict. Our involvement was also sparked by a domestic invasion, unlike our current ghost hunting expedition in Iraq.

a good way to put it all into context. WW2 was fought in EUrope, Asia, Africa, and even on the coasts of america (okay, it was just the one attack). That was a massive conflict that involved dozens of countries, millions of soldiers and billions of tonnes of supplies.

The Iraq war involves less than 1 million troops, one country and a relatively small population (compared to WW2) directly affected by the conflict.


Oh, not just ONE attack on our coasts. German U-boats were sinking transports in Boston Harbor.
 
2006-04-20 08:04:27 PM
Former Helmut Schmidt cabinet member, 25-year German Parliamentarian and global intelligence expert Andreas Von Bulow says that the 9/11 attack was run by the highest levels of the US intelligence apparatus using WTC Building 7 as a command bunker which was later demolished in order to destroy the crime scene.


teh krauts sez ur all sheep. war wuz needed 4 bizniss.

...baaaaaaa.
 
2006-04-20 08:04:51 PM
1200 bucks is a small price to pay (into taxes) for freedom.
 
2006-04-20 08:04:53 PM
Imagine how much $1 trillion could buy.

Healthcare for all...

Free college educations...

A flat screen TV and X-box for every person in the US.
 
2006-04-20 08:05:12 PM
What satirical ezine do you edit for, saskabush?


/saskatooner
 
2006-04-20 08:05:14 PM
Budget Director Mitch Daniels:

On September 15th 2002, White House economic advisor Lawrence Lindsay estimated the high limit on the cost to be 1-2% of GNP, or about $100-$200 billion. Mitch Daniels, Director of the Office of Management and Budget subsequently discounted this estimate as "very, very high" and stated that the costs would be between $50-$60 billion [Source: WSJ, "Bush Economic Aide Says Cost Of Iraq War May Top $100 Billion," Davis 09/16/02; NYT, "Estimated Cost of Iraq War Reduced, Bumiller, 12/31/02; Reuters News, "Daniels sees U.S. Iraq war cost below $200 billion," 09/18/02]

"There's just no reason that this can't be an affordable endeavor." [Source: Reuters, "U.S. Officials Play Down Iraq Reconstruction Needs," Entous, 4/11/03]

"The United States is committed to helping Iraq recover from the conflict, but Iraq will not require sustained aid." [Source: Washington Post, 4/21/03]


Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld:
"Well, the Office of Management and Budget, has come up come up with a number that's something under $50 billion for the cost. How much of that would be the U.S. burden, and how much would be other countries, is an open question." [Source: Media Stakeout, 1/19/03]

"I don't know that there is much reconstruction to do." [Source: Reuters, "U.S. Officials Play Down Iraq Reconstruction Needs," Entous, 4/11/03]


Top Economist Adviser Glen Hubbard:

"Costs of any such intervention would be very small." [Source: CNBC, 10/4/02]

Budget Director Josh Bolten:
"We don't anticipate requesting anything additional for the balance of this year." [Source: Congressional Testimony , 7/29/03]

Press Secretary Ari Fleischer:

"Well, the reconstruction costs remain a very -- an issue for the future. And Iraq, unlike Afghanistan, is a rather wealthy country. Iraq has tremendous resources that belong to the Iraqi people. And so there are a variety of means that Iraq has to be able to shoulder much of the burden for their own reconstruction." [Source: White House Press Briefing, 2/18/03]

Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz: "There's a lot of money to pay for this that doesn't have to be U.S. taxpayer money, and it starts with the assets of the Iraqi people...and on a rough recollection, the oil revenues of that country could bring between $50 and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years...We're dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction, and relatively soon." [Source: House Committee on Appropriations Hearing on a Supplemental War Regulation, 3/27/03]

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld: "I don't believe that the United States has the responsibility for reconstruction, in a sense...[Reconstruction] funds can come from those various sources I mentioned: frozen assets, oil revenues and a variety of other things, including the Oil for Food, which has a very substantial number of billions of dollars in it. [Source: Senate Appropriations Hearing, 3/27/03]

There are MANY MANY more of these.
 
2006-04-20 08:05:52 PM
How much of that booty does Halliburton get?
 
2006-04-20 08:06:07 PM
At least we have cheap gas!
 
2006-04-20 08:06:14 PM
Bush claims we are "defending America" and "defending our freedom" by being in Iraq.

And that we are "fighting terrorists in Iraq so they cant get us over here."

But he also says that we will leave when the Iraqis can take over the fight.

So we are going to leave it to Iraq to "defend Americas freedom" and stop the terrorists "before they can come to America"?

The answer is that we arent really defending America or Americas freedom by being in Iraq. If we were, we wouldnt "stand down as Iraqi's stand up".

So are we creating "freedom" for Iraqis?

They now have a constitution that says " no law can contradict Islam."

Did our men and women get killed and maimed by the thousands just so Iraq can have an Islamic government?

We arent defending America. We arent giving freedom to Iraqis (especially Iraqi women).

So what the hell are we doing?

"No law can contradict Islam".

Maybe "all men are created equal" is worth an American soldiers life, but not "no law can contradict Islam."
 
2006-04-20 08:06:50 PM
Who knew electing an unqualified simpleton to the highest office in the land would have negative repercussions?!

Hindsight is 20/20, as they say.
 
2006-04-20 08:06:59 PM
Good job, Corvus. The right was last seen running and hiding in terror.

/get it? TERROR!
//because it's the WAR on TERROR
///lol republicans
 
2006-04-20 08:07:12 PM
This is not an original thought as I read it from some article somewhere, but the real question right now is probably "when does it start to matter?"

That is, throwing around figures in the billions of dollars per year is interesting and all, but at what point does it become too much to spend? There is certainly a number where even supporters of the war will say "that's too much". What is that number? How quickly will we reach it? What happens if/when we do?

My guess is that we should prepare for another 10 billion/month for the next few years until there is a change in administration. Like him or not, I think most people would agree that Bush does not like to admit mistakes, so thing will more than likely just continue as they currently are until somebody else takes over.
 
2006-04-20 08:07:17 PM
1200 bucks is a small price to pay (into taxes) for freedom
Except that I would much rather prefer my 1200 went towards something that WASN'T A WAR.
I dunno... something that possibly improves the quality of life in our own country.
 
2006-04-20 08:07:27 PM
CanadianCommie a good way to put it all into context. WW2 was fought in EUrope, Asia, Africa, and even on the coasts of america (okay, it was just the one attack). That was a massive conflict that involved dozens of countries, millions of soldiers and billions of tonnes of supplies.

There was another attack on America in WWII, in 1942 the Japanese invaded the Alaska islands of Attu and Kiska.
 
2006-04-20 08:07:32 PM
1200 bucks is a small price to pay (into taxes) for freedom.


Whos freedom did we pay for?

 
2006-04-20 08:08:16 PM
I think a majority of the U.S public realizes that this war is a complete waste of time, energy, lives, and most importantly MONEY

That's what it's all about right? It's definitely what's going to end this "war."
 
2006-04-20 08:08:18 PM
C'mon saps My Fellow Americans, one trillion dollars is a vast overbigstimation of the how much this war will cost. Besides, with WWII costing three times as much with inflationess, we'd STILL be getting this war at a bargain!
www.theepochtimes.com
 
2006-04-20 08:08:46 PM
If we're all about stopping dictatorships and spreading freedom... why are we just choosing this one country?
 
2006-04-20 08:08:46 PM
Your own. I hate when people complain about taxes. I am in the military and I pay taxes. Which I find redundant..... I pay my own check!
 
2006-04-20 08:09:03 PM
Wonder how much of that actually went towards fighting the war and rebuilding, and how much vanished down the 'government contracts' crapper?

*cough*Halburton*cough*
 
2006-04-20 08:09:22 PM
Big round of UFIA to all that voted for bush.

Plain spoken is great for a reality tv show featuring aspiring pop idols.
But damn lousy for POTUS.
 
2006-04-20 08:09:31 PM
 
2006-04-20 08:09:59 PM
ZAZ
WW2 cost about $3 trillion adjusted for inflation.

Would you estimate that WW2 accomplished more than three times as much as the invasion of Iraq?
 
2006-04-20 08:10:27 PM
Talk about mismatched priorities...
 
2006-04-20 08:10:31 PM
1200 bucks is a small price to pay (into taxes) for freedom
Except that I would much rather prefer my 1200 went towards something that WASN'T A WAR.
I dunno... something that possibly improves the quality of life in our own country.

Like your freedom? or maybe your childs perhaps?
 
2006-04-20 08:10:48 PM
A trillion here, a trillion there. We're leaving a nice legacy for our kids.
 
2006-04-20 08:12:05 PM
The US spends more on its military than Russia, China, Japan, Britain, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Brazil, India, Italy, South Korea, Iran, Israel, Taiwan, Canada, Spain, Australia, the Netherlands, Turkey, and Singapore put together. link

The problem is that when you spend all this money on "defense", it inevitably becomes "offense". You can't keep the massive staff of generals and all the politicians, and all the people in the military-industrial complex idle forever by tossing all that cash at them. They'll continue to crank out weapons, and the military brass will keep using them.

Until we get that military budget under control, we'll continue to have Team America: World Police getting themselves into quagmires. REALLY EXPENSIVE QUAGMIRES.
 
2006-04-20 08:12:23 PM
Actually WWII is a great comparison. Remember Saddam was just like Hitler.

/Recalibrate your sarcasm meters.
 
2006-04-20 08:12:36 PM
EzraS

What satirical ezine do you edit for, saskabush?


/saskatooner


Nice to see a fellow Saskatchewanian! I actually own the domain saskabush.com and I write and develop the site. Yes, I've been a bad boy and not updated it in 6 weeks. My paying job has been a bit demanding lately.

But, no worries, the riders will be mocked endlessly.

Sorry for the thread jack...
 
2006-04-20 08:13:08 PM
ubett: This is not an original thought as I read it from some article somewhere, but the real question right now is probably "when does it start to matter?"

It matters when China decides it matters. It matters when them and other countries no longer wish to buy our debt. And at that time we will be in lots of trouble and have to make drastic economic cuts and raise taxes high.

So if you don't like the US economy to be held hostage by countries like China then you should be concerned.
 
2006-04-20 08:13:14 PM
And people make fun of Libertarians for their "nutty" ideas. Nuttier still is thinking that wasting a trillion dollars and thousands of American lives makes us safer.

"Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations - entangling alliances with none."

/why can't we be kind of like a Swiss superpower?
 
2006-04-20 08:13:39 PM
gonzo79

I don't see how the Iraq war has gained me freedom. Please explain.
 
2006-04-20 08:14:19 PM
Well, according to my math...

$1 trillion / 295 million people = $3,389.83 for every man, woman and child in the US.
 
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