What's the Real Cost of These Wars?
By Susie Madrak Tuesday Dec 16, 2008 11:00amYou have to give BushCo credit - they're creative! They've managed to come up with new ways to obscure and even cover their tracks on just about everything:
The Bush administration's novel approach to budgeting for and financing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has made it very difficult to discern the true costs of the conflicts, a new report by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments concludes.
Historically, the United States has covered the costs of war through the annual appropriations process. Supplemental appropriations were used to cover only initial, unanticipated phases of major conflicts. But the Bush administration relied exclusively on supplemental appropriations to cover the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan until 2008 -- seven years after U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan and five years after they entered Iraq.
The reliance on supplemental funding creates a misleading picture of overall requirements, said Steven Kosiak, vice president of budget studies at CSBA and author of the report, during a briefing on Monday. "A sound budgeting process forces policymakers to recognize the true costs of their policy choices," he said.
I think it's only a matter of time before we discover they've not only mislead us about the number of civilian deaths, but also lied about the number of wounded and dead American troops.
I expect we'll start to hear a lot about those and other coverups, once the new Obama administration is sworn in.
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In three months, Paulson and Bernanke spent more than twice the cost of all of WWII.
http://inflationdata.com/inflation/Hyperinfla...
Historical Graphic compared to 2008 Bailout.
http://libertymaven.com/wp-content/uploads/ba...
2.3 Trillion reported missing from the Pentagon - Sept. 10th, 2001
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eve...
Bailout Hits $8 Trillion ($8,000,000,000,000)
http://foolocracy.com/2008/12/bailout-hits-8-...
Graphic: Less than half the bailout visualized in one dollar bills
http://hubpages.com/hub/315-Billion?done
..are the sacrificed lives of the young men and woman, the families they will never have and the dreams they will never realize.
http://action.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/1...
last column, from gg
About 1.3 million or about 5% 0f their population.... Incoming shoe.... in terms we may understand about 15.2 million of US population at that ratio...... Duck, shoe ....... at about $ 3 trillion after extending cost for Vet care and replacement.... Didn't Khrushchev use a shoe to get some respect?
Covering the place with depleted uranium, Priceless. About 1 in 3 extended families in Iraq have lost a loved one. May-be some really nice Christmas cards would cheer them up.
The fed just slashed interest rates to below .25% While it looked good at first, the market is pulling back.
There isn't anywhere else to go with these rates.
These guys are so good with money.
But now the DOW is up to about 225.
We have known all along the cost of the war was off the record. When will they ask for the next supplemental?
i would say the fed cutting the interest rates to the bone is not only bad it is dangerous. it didn't look good at first, nor second, nor now. and the fact that the market went up 200-300 points shows how detached from reality the market is.
the fact that the fed lowered interest rates below .25% and the stock market went up makes it even more likely that a hard rain is going to fall. and we have only had sprinkles so far.
once again the the fed and the economic brain farts are playing tinkle down economics.
Bush, Cheney, and other war profiteers would have to return their ill gotten profits from their crimes against humanity.
In a just world, we wouldn't even be talking about bush and cheney. They would have become history in 2000.
Report: Bush masked cost of wars that could top $1.7 trillion
http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Report_Cost_of_...
And Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz estimates 3-4 trillion.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/colu...
I would say those numbers are accurate. Especially the 3-4 trillion figure put forth by Joseph Stiglitz. Since these wars are entirely off budget and funded through supplimental appropriations we can add those costs to the eventual costs of replacing military equipment, increased Veterans benefits and care, etc.
Historically, as I recall, most wars were funded through direct taxation or by expanding the money supply (inflation as defined by the Austrian School of Economics) which lead to the issuing of "war" bonds. The bush Administration funded these wars on foreign credit and nothing more. This made it very easy for that Administation to get their supporters behind the wars. It cost them nothing in the short term but that will soon change.
"I expect we'll start to hear a lot about those and other coverups, once the new Obama administration is sworn in."
I think we will hear very little about it. Pelosi, Reid and Obama will say something to the effect of "The American people want to look forward, not behind" as they let BushCo get away with their high crimes against America, the American people and the world.
"I expect we'll start to hear a lot about those and other coverups, once the new Obama administration is sworn in."
Please remember that Nancy and Harry are still there and they have shown zero desire to hold anyone in this administration accountable. Considering past records and the current clusterF economic legacy of BushCo., I have absolutely no hope that accountability is coming anytime soon. How sad to say and think that in America. these crooks and liars will walk freely into the sunset and leave a smoking pile of distruction, physical and literal, in their wake.
Redstate thinks the Bush economy that will last perhaps well into 2010 will be good for.......Republicans! http://www.redstate.com/brianfaughnan/2008/12...
No wonder these delusional f*ckers lost in an across the board landslides in 2006 and 2008. Bwah ha ha ha ha ha! You keep dreamin!!
This war is a symbol of Bush's entire 8 years in office. Both were based on nothing but lies.
We won't know for some time...but I guarantee it will be much more than anyone imagined.
and there are costs...
the price of the war was too high when it hit $1.72 (one dollar and 72 cents). every cent over that is too much. and there are a whole slew of individuals, industries and corporations making a lot of money profiteering off the deaths of troops and civilians.
but, forget about the money for a moment. think about another real cost of the war: it made terrorism more likely, it eroded of any "moral" authority we ever claimed to have, led to the death/injury of tens of thousands of people, and--in the end--will only lead to more wars.
Lives?
i guess that i should be thankful that you have
finally come to recoginize the reality of the situation
with all the coverup of the bush/cheney bullshit that
they have lied and misinformed up from the beginning
of these phony wars. but, i am pissed that for
several years this site removed many of my imputs
and called them conspiracies. some on this
site who contribute can see thru the details
of deceipt from this administration, those of
you who failed to open your minds, have cost
this country dearly.
hopefully there won't be a next time to worry about.
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