Day: April 2, 2014

What Cost War?

The situations in Iraq and Afghanistan have taken a back seat to  the search for a plane……a debate on birth certificates and a wealth of spurious conspiracies……but since today is my day to post on war….I will delve into those two wars that people forget…….

Does anyone know what the final cost of the two will be?

The final bill will run at least $3.7 trillion and could reach as high as $4.4 trillion, according to the research project “Costs of War” by Brown University’s Watson Institute for International Studies. (www.costsofwar.org)

In the 10 years since U.S. troops went into Afghanistan to root out the al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11, 2001, attacks, spending on the conflicts totaled $2.3 trillion to $2.7 trillion.

Those numbers will continue to soar when considering often overlooked costs such as long-term obligations to wounded veterans and projected war spending from 2012 through 2020. The estimates do not include at least $1 trillion more in interest payments coming due and many billions more in expenses that cannot be counted, according to the study.

In human terms, 224,000 to 258,000 people have died directly from warfare, including 125,000 civilians in Iraq. Many more have died indirectly, from the loss of clean drinking water, healthcare, and nutrition. An additional 365,000 have been wounded and 7.8 million people — equal to the combined population of Connecticut and Kentucky — have been displaced.

$3.7 trillion?  That amount could have gone a long way to solve the $5.1 trillion that Ryan wants to carve out of domestic programs…….don’t you think?

But beyond that there are other costs of war…….

The 2.6 million Americans who volunteered to fight on IED-laden battlefields in Iraq and Afghanistan have returned home with a panoply of problems borne out of their service. Consider the following from a newly released Washington Post-Kaiser Family Foundation survey:

  • 18 percent were seriously injured while performing their duties.
  • 34 percent say they have a service-connected disability.
  • 52 percent say their physical or mental health is worse than it was before the wars.
  • 41 percent report experiencing outbursts of anger, at least sometimes.
  • 51 percent know a service member who has attempted or committed suicide.

More from the Post-Kaiser survey:

For recent veterans, a legacy of pride and pain.

Key findings from the poll.

Interactive poll results and how the survey was conducted.

My point is….war is far more expensive than what most people think……who will pay the tab?

America’s War-Weary Public | Consortiumnews

Keeping with the theme of the day….the topic is WAR.

The crisis in the Ukraine has returned all our wannabes back to the microphones and cameras….these mental midgets are out there thumping their chests like some sex crazed primate…..but all that macho talk these people are forgetting one simple truth…the American people are war weary…….

 

America’s War-Weary Public | Consortiumnews.

Make War Not Love

In these days of political insanity we hear a lot of stuff that seems a bit bizarre……I recall in my younger days while I was protesting there were chants everywhere….”Hell No We Won’t GO”!…..or my fave……..”Make Love Not War”…..there seems to be some that like the idea of America’s young being sent off to fight for whatever issues in en vogue for the day…….and this is one of those people…..

Americans in their 50s and 60s largely understand the positive power of the US military. They saw a military buildup end the Cold War, and witnessed successful interventions in Serbia and Iraq in the 90s, Harvard professor Stephen Peter Rosen—a member of that generation—writes in the Wall Street Journal. But younger Americans see the world very differently. They see the Cold War as unnecessary, and came of age during the Iraq and Afghanistan quagmires. They aren’t blind to the world’s evils, “they just cannot believe that the use of US military power will make things better.”

“The task isn’t to convince them that they must support military action when they believe in their hearts that it cannot work,” Rosen writes. It’s to demonstrate that some things are worth fighting for. Fighting nuclear proliferation makes the world and the US safer. Standing up against territorial incursions like Russia’s Crimea move fosters a more profitable free world—and protects against similar attacks on us. “In short, America must help others defend themselves against tyranny because it is in our national interest to do so.” Click for Rosen’s full column.

I thought we were already doing this with those damn silly video games……..and the glorification of war by Hollywood………

I bet people like McCain and Graham thinks this guy is some sort of sage or something equally moronic………

That call is easy for someone to make if they never had to taste their own fear.  Easy for someone that never had to tell a family that their son/daughter would not be coming home alive.  Easy for someone that never had a friend die in their arms from a sucking chest wound.

I have NO patience for these people at all……..they do a disservice to the country and its people.  PERIOD!

Ready For WW III? | NYTimes eXaminer

I like WAR!  Well not the action part…..been there done that, never again…..what I like is the study of conflict….causes, results and etc etc……..

The way situations are going could a WW3 be in the wings just waiting for that one incident to plunge the world into chaos…..yet again?

An interesting piece…..please tell me your thoughts.

 

Ready For WW III? | NYTimes eXaminer.