War Spending To Pass $400 Billion

[shira]

To be fair, some of that $400 billion was (and is) for Afghanistan, and I think all of us wold agree that invading Afghanistan was a reasonable thing to do. The total amount spent through 2005 by the U.S. in Afghanistan is about $82 billion:

Afghanistan Watch

Department of Defense spending in Afghanistan since 2001-2005: $76 billion

All other U.S. spending in Afghanistan, 2001-2005: $5.7 billion

Even acknowledging that the U.S. would have spent a few billion over the past four years keeping an in-power Saddam tied up, that still leaves over $310 billion utterly wasted.

And it's not just the loss of money. Our ability to deal with Iran has been severly compromised because of the Iraq fiasco.

 

[Todd33]

They should have spent the money in Afghanistan. Instead of one war complete and victorious, we have two quagmires.

Fisrt Iraq was $1.7B, then it was $50B then they laughed when Kerry said $300B. Now estimates are 1 trillion after all cost are accounted for including veteran benifits (which the repugs will try to slash, as always).

 

[judasmachine]

Originally posted by: Sheik Yerbouti
400 billion? Hmmm. I didn't know dumbya could count that high. Weren't there some people in his gestapo stating that it wouldn't run over 200 billion? And the person who said it would sail over that amount was let go? Can't have any dissention in the dumbya clique.

what's a few brazillian?

 

[arsbanned]

Originally posted by: loup garou

Originally posted by: EatSpam
I'm not surprised we haven't heard from our resident Bush supporters. I mean, $400 billion is a whole lot of free-dumb(tm), you'd think they would be proud!

They're too busy flaming me in the New Orleans thread about how the federal government assisting in the reconstruction of the Gulf Coast is a waste of money. :roll:

Insane, isn't it? They don't even realize the absurdity of their position either. :disgust:

 

[BDawg]

Wait, your data must be wrong. This war was supposed to be nearly free. We're going to pay for it with war revenue.

That's what was told to us, right?

 

[Pens1566]

Originally posted by: BDawg
Wait, your data must be wrong. This war was supposed to be nearly free. We're going to pay for it with war revenue.

That's what was told to us, right?

Iraqi oil actually. Black gold, Basra Tea.

 

[jimkyser]

Originally posted by: BDawg
Wait, your data must be wrong. This war was supposed to be nearly free. We're going to pay for it with war revenue.

That's what was told to us, right?

Yeah, but they seem to be losing all control of that money. There was a report the other day where a US soldier gambled $60k of it away in the Phillipines. The GAO did an initial audit, and it was appalling.

Here is a link to an article about the audit:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/01/25/MNGUNGSNBH1.DTL

 

[CaptnKirk]

. . . and it's all emergency expenditure, and doesen't get added into and counted with the Nations debt or deficit.

Clever isn't it - this 'fuzzy math'

 

[jimkyser]

Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
. . . and it's all emergency expenditure, and doesen't get added into and counted with the Nations debt or deficit.

Clever isn't it - this 'fuzzy math'

It may not be added to the deficit, but it is most certainly added to the national debt.

 

[JacobJ]

$400 Billion to feed the poor?
To house the homeless?
To start a war?

 

[BDawg]

Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
. . . and it's all emergency expenditure, and doesen't get added into and counted with the Nations debt or deficit.

Clever isn't it - this 'fuzzy math'

And if you ask any questions, you're labeled as an unpatriotic traitor who hates the troops.

 

[CaptnKirk]

Originally posted by: jimkyser

Originally posted by: CaptnKirk
. . . and it's all emergency expenditure, and doesen't get added into and counted with the Nations debt or deficit.

Clever isn't it - this 'fuzzy math'

It may not be added to the deficit, but it is most certainly added to the national debt.

. . . added on, but not accountable . . . yet.

Johnson was able to do this for the first coubpe years of Vietnam, before Congress made it an accountable expenditure.