Curious what the war in Iraq has cost, so far? (I am referring to the economic cost, as opposed to the more tragic human cost.) The National Priorities Project, which is located in my hometown of Northampton, MA, offers on its website a counter that provides a running calculation of the war’s total cost, which includes “military operations, reconstruction and other spending related to the Iraq invasion and occupation� but not “potential future costs, such as future health care for soldiers and veterans wounded in the war� or “the contribution of war spending to the deficits incurred in the federal budget.� If you are curious what could have been purchased for an equal amount, the website offers eye-opening comparisons to the cost of such luxury items as pre-school, children’s health insurance, public education, public housing, world immunization, etc. Check it out: http://costofwar.com/index.html. By the way, as of the time of this writing, the total cost was in excess of 239 billion dollars!
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Kmareka.com 
This is interesting. Back in ’02/’03, one of the neocon-men (Feith? Wolfowitz? I always found it difficult to distinguish the vermin. Sort of like the difference between a German cockroach and a brown cockroach–can you tell the difference? Does it matter?) suggested that the war might cost as much as $200 B. Someone asked Rumsfeld about this. In a voice dripping with utter contempt, Rummy said “Baloney.” (Maybe the disconnect between the tone and the word was what made it so memorable.
Anyway, we were assured that it would cost $40 B, tops. Well, bu$h just asked for the third (fourth?) supplemental funding measure, of yet another $80 B.
What I want to know is why I have to find this info on the blogosphere. Where is the press? Where are the Dems? Where is anyone in a position of authority or power bringing up these points? Use that clip of Rummy saying that as a campaign ad to point out how these people don’t have a clue about what they’re doing.
I read something recently that asked whether bu$h and his merry band of marauders really were lying back then. The article concluded that they didn’t lie about a lot of things they used to build their case for war in Iraq–remember the term ‘cakewalk’? Someone actually used it. Rather, they ACTUALLY BELIEVED THEIR OWN RHETORIC AND PRESS RELEASES. IMHO, that is much, MUCH worse. Lying might imply a certain level of competence, but not having a clue….That is completely incomprehensible.
Back in the day, the Repubs used to lambast liberals as ‘squishy thinkers’ who weren’t tough enough to face reality. Well, the shoe is on the other foot. It’s the neocon-men who are living in fantasyland. When I read the justifications put forward for torture, I am struck by a thought–they think it works because it always works on TV. A little pain and the snivelling bad guys blabs everything. And worse–I actually think that the neocon-men believe that “Rambo” and those other 1980s movies of that ilk are documentaries. I think they actually believe we won the Vietnam war, because of tough guys like Sly Stallone and Chuck Norris.
OK. Sorry for the rant. But where is our leadership?