THE THREE TRILLION DOLLAR IRAQ WAR

The cost of fighting the Iraq war is staggering, however most Americans haven't got a clue what it is costing to fight the war in Iraq.

It is costing the U.S. taxpayer 9 Billion dollars a month for the war in Iraq. It costs upwards of $400,000 for each soldier deployed to Iraq and the United States has 160,000 soldiers in Iraq.

The money to pay for the war is being borrowed and despite the enormous cost of the Iraq War the Bush administration has seen fit to lower taxes on the wealthiest Americans.

One of the worst aspects of the Iraq war has been the loss of nearly 4,000 young men and women who have been killed in Iraq with another almost 30,000 seriously wounded with injuries that will leave them disabled for life.

The cost of the Iraq war in human treasure and money is staggering and will leave Americans paying for the Iraq war for generations.

NO END IN SIGHT FOR RISING COSTS OF FIGHTING THE IRAQ WAR


By Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes, The Times of London UK

Posted on February 25, 2008, Printed on February 25, 2008

http://www.alternet.org/story/77663/

The Bush Administration was wrong about the benefits of the war and it was wrong about the costs of the war. The president and his advisers expected a quick, inexpensive conflict. Instead, we have a war that is costing more than anyone could have imagined.

The cost of direct US military operations -- not even including long-term costs such as taking care of wounded veterans -- already exceeds the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is more than double the cost of the Korean War.

And, even in the best case scenario, these costs are projected to be almost ten times the cost of the first Gulf War, almost a third more than the cost of the Vietnam War, and twice that of the First World War.

The only war in our history which cost more was the Second World War, when 16.3 million U.S. troops fought in a campaign lasting four years, at a total cost (in 2007 dollars, after adjusting for inflation) of about $5 trillion. With virtually the entire armed forces committed to fighting the Germans and Japanese, the cost per troop (in today's dollars) was less than $100,000 in 2007 dollars. By contrast, the Iraq war is costing upward of $400,000 per troop.

Most Americans have yet to feel these costs.

The price in blood has been paid by our voluntary military and by hired contractors. The price in treasure has, in a sense, been financed entirely by borrowing. Taxes have not been raised to pay for it -- in fact, taxes on the rich have actually fallen.

Deficit spending gives the illusion that the laws of economics can be repealed, that we can have both guns and butter. But of course the laws are not repealed.

The costs of the war are real even if they have been deferred, possibly to another generation.

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