 |
|
|
 Editorials | April 2007 
Iraq War: Counting the Cost
 Stewart A. Alexander - Views and News
The U.S. has just entered into the fifth year of the Iraq War and the cost has escalated far beyond the original estimates of the Bush Administration and U.S. military experts. Prior to the invasion, March 19, 2003, it was anticipated that the major conflict would have been accomplished in less than six months.
Now more than four years later the U.S. is entrenched in a civil war that has cost the lives of more than 3,200 Americans and more than 24,000 have been reported wounded by official reports.
The Iraqi casualties reveal another grim reminder of the disastrous human cost and the effects of the Iraq Civil War. Updated figures reveal the situation is far worst than what is being reported on American television or in American newspapers.
The post invasion Iraqi death toll is now estimated to be as high as 1,000,000, far higher than the previous estimate of 655,000; this is according to recent scientific data. Over 5,000,000 Iraqis have been hurt or wounded. Recent figures indicate the refugee numbers have climbed from 2,700,000 to over 3,900,000 and the refugee crisis is broadly impacting the entire region of the Middle East.
Some estimates indicate the cost to rebuild Iraq will exceed $1 trillion; however as the civil war continues this number could be off by a much wider margin.
Presently the U.S. Congress is working on legislation to provide the Bush Administration the supplemental military funding, over $100 billion, to continue a civil war that is not supported by the majority of Americans.
The cost to finance the Iraq Civil War has thrown the U.S. into the grips of a recession which is affecting every working class family across America. Working class families and veterans have to sacrifice vital services for the U.S. government to cover the escalating cost of the war.
Families, that have loss loves ones in Iraq and Afghanistan, are not receiving a decent compensation from the U.S. government to continue with their lives and to raise their children; instead Congress continues to fund the devastation and their pork barrel projects here in the U.S.
Presently Congress is borrowing the U.S. further into debt to continue the occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost to occupy these two countries is creating a dangerous situation for the U.S. in the event of a natural disaster, such as Hurricane Katrina that claimed over 1,700 victims and devastated entire communities; and today the U.S. is not prepared for such emergencies.
The U.S. Congress has been setting timetables for troop withdrawals and to end the occupation in Iraq; however these timetables are extended too far and have been set to accomplish the political goals for the Democrats and the Republicans in 2008.
It is time for the U.S. Congress to cut funding for a policy that has only produced failing results. Congress should only provide the necessary funds to bring American troops back home; a sum far short of $100 billion.
A majority of Americans are opposed to the supplemental military funding in Congress because the funds will only increase the deaths and bloodshed of innocent people and American troops; funds that will further disrupt the peace in the Middle East and the entire world.
For more information search the Web for Stewart A. Alexander; Troop Withdrawal Timetables Divide Democrats; Democrats Waffling on Iraq War; Alexander: PFP Setting Tone for 2008.
http://www.salt-g.com - stewartalexander4paf@ca.rr.com - http://sacramentofordemocracy.org/?q=node/view/5305 |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us