War Costs Poised To Reach $500B (1/2-a-Trillion!)

[pinniped]

http://cbs5.com/topstories/topstories_story_347213415.html

War Costs Poised To Reach $500B

(AP) WASHINGTON The Pentagon is in the early stages of drafting a wartime request for up to $100 billion more for Iraq and Afghanistan, lawmakers say, a figure that would push spending related to the wars toward a staggering half-trillion dollars.

Reps. Bill Young, R-Fla., the chairman of the House appropriations defense panel, and John Murtha, D-Pa., the senior Democrat on that subcommittee, say the military has informally told them it wants $80 billion to $100 billion in a war-spending package that the White House is expected to send Congress next year.

That would be in addition to $50 billion Congress is about to give the Pentagon before lawmakers adjourn for the year for operations in Iraq for the beginning of 2006. Military commanders expect that pot to last through May.

snip-->

"The number is so high," he said, "that it suggests that there's a significant amount of money in there for costs not directly related to the cost of military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan."

snip-->>

More:
http://cbs5.com/topstories/topstories_story_347213415.html

Can you say 1 trillion?

[az chela]

1. This is beyond believable

All that money to build a pipeline and get their oil???And what is the cost in human lives???

[PDJane]

2. What are they doing with the money?

Where is it going, because it's certainly not going to rebuild the country that they've bombed to rubble.........and it's not going to feed the populace or guarantee fresh water.

[dweller]

8. they are building a virgin rocket pad in NM

to blast off to Mars with all of the $$$.


hell, makes as much sense as anything else these days

:(

dp

[Trevelyan]

53. Byrnes' relief of command came on the heels of the Pentagon

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/8/14/95153/6524

Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski was demoted to Colonel over trumped up charges over her role as commander of Iraqi prisons during the time of the prisoner abuse (and after she revealed the presence of Israeli interrogators in Iraqi prisons), the Pentagon spin machine, joined at the hips with neo-con think tanks and media outlets in Washington, cited a dated and totally unsubstantiated shoplifting accusation against her.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker, who Donald Rumsfeld hauled out of retirement to head up the Army after Gen. Eric Shinseki was fired and after no other active duty general wanted the job, relieved Byrnes of his command at Fort Monroe, Virginia.

Byrnes had previous run-ins with the neo-cons in the Pentagon. In 2002, Byrnes was faced with being retired at Lt. Gen. after he clashed with then-Rumsfeld aide Stephen Cambone over proposed troop strength cuts. Then Army Secretary Thomas White, intervened on behalf of Byrnes and he received his fourth star. White was later fired by the Pentagon neo-cons.

~What has not been reported is that recently, one of Byrnes' subordinate commands, Fort Rucker in Alabama, had been told to stand by for an influx of 50,000 military trainees -- a level the base has not seen since the Vietnam War. Byrnes' relief of command came on the heels of the Pentagon announcing that it might permit Spanish-language entrance examinations.

Byrnes, who was in charge of Army training, would not only face recruits with lower education levels and past criminal records, but a lack of proficiency in English. Pentagon insiders report that it was Byrnes' policy disagreements with the Pentagon neo-cons over the new recruitment policies and the potential for calling up Army retirees and reinstating military conscription without adequate TRADOC funding that resulted in his firing. The personal misconduct charges were concocted by the Pentagon to cover up the fact that there are serious disagreements with Bush and Rumsfeld
among the flag officer ranks in the military.

WHERE IS ALL THE MONEY GOING? LOOK UP TRUMAN COMMISSION! Write your Congresscritters and ASK AND KEEP ON ASKING!!

[saigon68]

62. "bring em on" (the $$$$$$$$$$) shouted the AWOL CHIMPANZEE

"I'm not done FEEDING AT THE TROUGH", he screeched

[TheWraith]

66. A trip to Mars would only cost about $50 billion.

For $500 billion, we could terraform Mars and then colonize it.

[LiberalVoice]

18. Haven't you heard?

The military has offices where iraqi's who have families of the injured and murdered can walk in and get money.

[yurbud]

19. what's the context of your Howard Dean photo?

[LiberalVoice]

21. Well it was published in the New York Metro.

Dean mentioned during the interview that most people dont recognize him by name but rather that he looks familiar. This was during the '04 elections.

[yurbud]

23. That's funny. Can you imagine seeing Bush on the subway?

He probably doesn't know it exists.

[PurpleChez]

48. Shee-yah. What * doesn't know or understand could fill an encyclopedia.

I picture him running around on the Metro platform in childlike glee, a la Homer Simpson after being named The Chosen One. Which of course was a la The Last Emperor. Somehow I think we could do just as good with a preadolescent Chinese boy in the white house, considering what we're stuck with now.

[yurbud]

51. the last emperor wasn't aggressively cruel

[Trevelyan]

55. Activists keep vigil at Guantanamo base

Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski was demoted to Colonel over trumped up charges over her role as commander of Iraqi prisons during the time of the prisoner abuse (and after she revealed the presence of Israeli interrogators in Iraqi prisons)...:wtf:

http://www.witnesstorture.org/
Hunger Strike at the Gates of Guantánamo: Marchers against torture pledge five-day fast if denied entry
by Jessica Bennett, Village Voice
December 12th, 2005 8:14 AM

Twenty-five American peace activists are ready to begin fasting Monday at the gates of the U.S. Naval Base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, after completing a 50-mile trek in protest of prison conditions and reported torture of detainees. The group, members of the Catholic Worker movement, seeks U.S. authorization to enter the base and meet with prisoners—some 500 of which are held there on suspicion of terrorist activities.

clipping read more
Group in Cuba to protest detentions: Activists keep vigil at Guantanamo base
By Matthew Hay Brown Sun reporter Originally published December 12, 2005

Two dozen Christian activists, including several with ties to Baltimore, set up camp outside the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, yesterday to begin protesting the detention there of foreign terror suspects.

clipping read more http://www.millionphonemarch.com/habeas.htm
U.S. activists start vigil near Guantanamo prison
Source: Reuters By Marc Frank

HAVANA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - American Catholic peace activists arrived on Sunday at the perimeter of the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo, Cuba, to begin a three-day vigil and fast protesting conditions for terrorism suspects held there.

clipping read more
Pilgrimage to Guantánamo by DAN BELL, The Nation

On December 7 twenty-five Christians set out from Santiago de Cuba on a seventy-mile pilgrimage to Guantánamo Bay. Their mission is simple: to meet with more than 500 men who have been held without trial, virtually incommunicado, for nearly four years. If they are turned away, they will fast in support of Guantánamo's hunger strikers and hold a three-day vigil at the prison gates.

clipping read more
Exporting Torture—America’s Shame
By Linn Washington Jr., Black World Today

Three weeks before a group of American peace activists entered Cuba to stage an anti-torture protest at the infamous Guantanamo Bay prison a renowned American peace

[PurpleChez]

72. I was referring only to the image of a small child running through

the halls of power, oblivious to the reality he is at the center of. Poignant in the original film, hilarious as redone by Homer Simpson. Sorry if there was any confusion.

[yurbud]

74. wasn't confusion--more like free association

[PurpleChez]

89. Thank you kindly!

I recently received a very condescending "you need to read the whole article" reply from a DU'er because I responded to something other than the main topic of a posting. I thought that was unnecessary, so I bow to your buddha-nature and salute your free association.

[efhmc]

3. Where are the funds for the victims of Katrina???

Every penny spent there means less for Americans citizens in need.

[ClintonTyree]

27. Precisely........

Iraq gets a blank check while the Gulf States languish in non-existent support from the federal government. Let's take care of our own first. Bush's NATION BUILDING experiment, something which he said he would NEVER DO :eyes: is an abject failure. There are plenty of people in our own country that need the money we're throwing away in Iraq.
Get the hell out of Iraq, NOW! :grr:

[FearofFutility]

33. Yep

I just read a column in my paper saying that only $250 million out of $14 billion requested to rebuild the barrier islands and wet lands that provide some protection for NO from storm surge was authorized by the White House. Sickening.........

[butterfly77]

58. Remeber what bush said when he wanted the tax cuts....

"Its your money."!

[butterfly77]

57. Remember what bush said...

when he wanted the tax cuts. " Its your money."!

[Kindigger]

4. We are doomed

I don't understand. I just don't. :scared:

[Rainscents]

5. Who cares about the cost for this war... as long as, I have my war,

I'll support GOP all the way! :sarcasm:

[Straight Shooter]

6. Someone explain to me why a national health care plan is too expensive.

I mean someone like bush or rumsfeld or cheney or rice or any Republican, actually, who thinks "Freedom Isn't Free" is a really nifty slogan to stick on your car.

But we need those tax cuts, don'tcha know ...

[pinto]

7. If we bankrupt America for Bush's War, the terrorists have won.

[tuvor]

9. I wish you could edit headlines for clarity, i.e. "one-half trillion". n/t

[joefree1]

10. Damn, oil is expensive

Hy war on iraqnam is a real drag man.

[AnneD]

43. That was my thought...

If they (really) went in for the oil (and not WMD), they will end up dissappointed. Democracy will insure that a theological government-unfriendly to the west will eventually gain a foot hold. All was for not.

[Tight_rope]

91. What Oil?....We haven't even gotten that.

[kenny blankenship]

11. what can you say? It's beyond belief

Can't America see how insane this is, and how we are going to hand our enemies the victory they long for and cannot hope to achieve by bankrupting our country?

[bluestateguy]

12. Sending them money is like sending it down a rat hole

As soon as you make one appropriation, they come back and ask for more and more. Where does it all go?

[The_Casual_Observer]

13. This is OK with the freepers, they think it makes them safer.

[Al-CIAda]

14. How many children could have been sent to college, the poor

housed,hospitals built, bridges and roads built, urban revitalization, mass transit, alternative fuel/technology investment, health care, etc., etc...

Massive looting, fraud, and treason by the Bush crime family & multi-nationals against the taxpayer/American citizen.

[CottonBear]

46. We could have rebuilt the Gulf Coast & NOLA and bought every family

a home that previously rented or lived in public housing.

[tinrobot]

15. That's healthcare for every American... with leftovers.

Think of how many lives $500 billion could have saved and/or made better.

Instead, we have tens of thousands DEAD in Iraq and people here without healthcare going sick and dying.

Pathetic... and criminal.

[kurtyboy]

16. What half-a-trillion dollars can buy....

1,250 years of the operating budget for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or
Twelve years worth of all U.S. Unemployment Benefits, or
Twenty-eight years of FULL funding of No Child Left Behind (or forty years of Bush-level funding...), or
Fifty-six years of environmental protection funding at the Federal level (Bush-style), or
Forty-five years worth of Pell Grants, or
Ten years worth of TANF, AND Welfare-to-Work, AND Food Stamps, or

Eighteen years of Veteran's Medical programs.............Shit, we may need another trillion....

[tinrobot]

22. Enough money to rebuild New Orleans 20 times over

10 million new houses
15 million new teachers
12 million college educations
25 million fuel efficient cars

the list goes on....

[schrodingers_cat]

82. Thanks, Tinrobot and Kurtyboy, for the context

It helps us wrap our heads around this stunning number! I too was wondering what it would buy when I opened this thread

[mike_c]

17. these bastards must be stopped....

That's in the ballpark of the cost of the entire Vietnam war, which wrecked the U.S. economy, and if the cost goes higher-- and it will-- the damage will be even worse.

[0007]

29. I sure wish the bastards could be stopped! Like right now

[yurbud]

20. Any chance oil companies are going to repay us for hostile takeover?

[OneBlueSky]

24. all while New Orleans and the Gulf Coast die . . .

beyond unbelievable . . . this is unforgivable . . . kicked and recommended . . .

[UCSBLiberalCat53]

25. The question we should all be asking

Why don't our troops have body armor?!

[Skittles]

47. it's not just armor

very often the troops at anysoldier.com are requesting boots, blankets, coffee makers....it is readily apparent the money is not being spent on them

[cornermouse]

26. We can't afford this.

[bklyncowgirl]

28. This is what destroyed the Soviet Union

Money and manpower wasted in a vain bid to prop up a puppet regime in Afganistan. The stress caused already existing problems in the system to the breaking point.

Bush and his cronies don't care if they bankrupt this nation. The only purpose of their policies is to take money from the American Taxpayer and put it into the hands of their wealthy supporters.

[DanCa]

30. No federally funded war

I think the Bush voters - hell anyone who didn't vote for Senator Kerry - should bear the cost of this war on thier back alone and pay for it with thier dearest blood and treasure. Start bringing our people home now you bastards.

[AzDar]

31. Isn't THIS what Osama promised? To bankrupt us? Just like

the Russians in Afghanistan? Good work Dubya,you greedy, vapid sonofabitch...the terraists win; the United States is coming undone.

[bluethruandthru]

32. How much is going directly to Halliburton?

I'd love to know what percentage of this ends up in the pockets of Bush cronies. Then make that the headline! The public needs to see and hear that information day after day in order for it to sink in.

[The Wielding Truth]

69. My thought,too. How could we get their books?Or maybe we should

have Fitzgerald get it for us. The Cheney Group must be accountable.

[Massachusetts]

34. War Costs Poised To Reach $500B (1/2-a-Trillion!)

"We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

"We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together."

Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1961

[freestyle]

35. It will take decades to recover from this, if it ever happens.

Iraq is in worse condition than when we entered, and there is minimal reconstruction going on. The Gulf Coast is a pile of rubble, and minimal reconstruction is going on. The national debt is staggering and would take decades of surpluses to pay off. There is no policy to reorient our way of life for far lower energy use. I don't know if we will make it back from this. The hole is so deep, and we are still digging.

[Deja Q]

37. And yet the wrong people are made out to be terrorists.

:crazy:

Or maybe the right people too.

But we are facing the end. Enjoy life while we can.

[schrodingers_cat]

83. Our national NOLA disaster...except this time, there will be no other

country to offer help. Katrina was a force of nature, the Iraq war an intentional exercise is destruction of self and others. Hey....can we 5150 the entire cabal?

[Deja Q]

36. Only the beginning. Better check out what programs they intend to cut...

[oc2002]

38. Is there a plan to pay for this war? Anyone calculate the cost/adult?

Since we are basicly going bankrupt over this war, it amazes me the suppose oposition party(Dems?) have not even been repeating that the country is waging war with credit card reclessness, the end result could be a collosal dissaster.

[appnzllr]

39. Just Remember

Just remember that none of this money is being tracked as part of the budget deficit.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

40. America's "elite" padding their portfolios.

[RedEarth]

41. Don't forget to add in the costs(I've seen estimates of $500 Billion)

associated with injuries sustained in Iraq. Many of the injured troops will require long-term, or life-long, medical care. So the long-term costs will easily be over one trillion dollars.

Thank you george.

[Strelnikov_]

61. FYI, We Were Over A Trillion In Current And Future Costs Months Ago

according to a report that came out at that time.

The report considered ongoing obligations such as replacement of worn out equipment and, as you mention, long term medical care for the badly injured.

Keep an eye out for an update to this total.

[Clara T]

42. The Pentagon

and its subsidiaries destroy everything. News at 11.

[Hyernel]

44. How much of that has been looted by the BFEE?

[LSK]

45. and none of this is in our budget, its all extra spending

[INdemo]

49. My first thought is

of course Bushie's buddies have certainly filled their pockests,and * will cut federal aid for college students but yet keep the check book open so those kids can dodge bullets...

[Trevelyan]

52. Murtha Mentioned that The US Treasurer is Terrified by Bush's wild spendin

in Rep. Murtha's first speech. Write your Congresspersons and ask what happened to the money.

Wasn't one of the women in the Black Caucus setting up an oversight committee like Truman's Commission to chart and try to contain the war profiteering? Rep. Barbara Lee, I think or it might have been Cynthia McKinney - Why don't they ever seem to get articles on the very good work they are doing on DU?

[Rambis]

50. Wrong! "the war will pay for itself" GW Assclown & friends (nm)

x

[schrodingers_cat]

85. So let's see.....the taxpayers fund Halliburton, then Halliburton and

it's subsidiaries reap whatever non-metered oil profits it collects. I'd be insane to invest in such a company as the United States, but this is happening against my will nonetheless. It makes my head want to explode just thinking about the fact that these are my dollars!!!

[Silvermint]

54. You know,

since they said that oil money would pay for this war, does that mean that we have to amass half a trillion dollars in oil profits from Iraq now? *Glances at gas prices* Or, wait, have we already?

[judaspriestess]

56. posted this on another thread.... I rent a home to section 8

very nice lady, been shit on her whole life, is disabled, a widow and lives on assistance. well good ol section 8 cut her benifits in half. I already lose alot of money letting her rent my house but I'm not going to kick her out, I can't and I won't so I eat my loss but FOOD STAMPS TELLS HER SHE MAKES TOO MUCH MONEY. wtf??? so now she has to pay double the rent with the same income and she cannot collect food stamps.

do you really think these fundie sons of bitches care? no they do not.

[JPZenger]

59. Bush in Pre. Debate: No Way Will Cost $200 Billion

Does anyone remember in the Presidential Debate in 2004 when John Kerry talked about the Iraq invasion and occupation costing $200 billion. Bush replied angrily that there is no way it is costing $200 billion.

[Silvermint]

60. Well,

Bush was right. There IS no way it's costing $200 billion... =)

[Rambis]

90. Debate 2000

I don't think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place. So I would take my responsibility seriously. And it starts with making sure we rebuild our military power. Morale in today's military is too low. We're having trouble meeting recruiting goals. We met the goals this year, but in the previous years we have not met recruiting goals. Some of our troops are not well-equipped. I believe we're overextended in too many places. And therefore I want to rebuild the military power. It starts with a billion dollar pay raise for the men and women who wear the uniform. A billion dollars more than the president recently signed into law. It's to make sure our troops are well-housed and well-equipped. Bonus plans to keep some of our high-skilled folks in the services and a commander in chief that sets the mission to fight and win war and prevent war from happening in the first place.
GW*

[Strelnikov_]

63. For What We HAve Spent To Date On Iraq, What Could We Buy?

With the $1.1 Trillion in past spending and sunk costs that will be spent on Iraq as of todays estimate.

So this comes to $7.69 B/wk so far ($1,100 B / 52 wk/yr x 2.75 yr.)

$7.69 B/week In Iraq / 7 = $1.10 B/dy
US oil imports ~ 12.0 M bbl/dy

Therefore, $91.67/bbl of imported oil over the 2.75 yrs. has been spent on Iraq, to secure foreign oil supplies, in a (so far) losing cause.

Alternately, we could be getting a good head start on energy self sufficiency. Also, we are simply be fighting over something that will be running out in 20-40 years anyway.

What could we buy for our $1,100 B sunk so far into the ‘Catastrophic Success’?

U.S. Energy Consumption by Source

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb0103.html

2000 data, all in Quadrillion Btu (Quads)

.....................Quads...% Total
Coal.................22.65....23.1
Natural Gas (Dry)....23.92....24.1
Petroleum............38.40....38.8
Nuclear Electric......7.86.....7.9..103 plants
Renewable.............6.16.....6.2
......................====....====
.....................98.99...100.0

For nuclear, to replace the energy from petroleum (would have to be converted to a carrier for transportation), we would need 503 addl. plants to replace the 38.40 Quads of petroleum based energy. In the 70’s, I seem to remember them costing $1-2 B, so let’s say $4 B/ea. Therefore, we would need $ 2,012 B (I recognize that next gen nuclear plants would be smaller than the current high pressure water plants of today, but for the purpose of this exercise, it should get us in the ballpark).

How about wind? Per Heinberg, wind power potential in the US is 60 Quads. Let’s say we install 24 Quads of wind power to replace the 23.9 Quads of natural gas. This would require 667,000 turbines at $600,000/turbine, or $400 B. For wind, lets throw in $150 B of pumped hydro to store the wind power.

Also, we probably need to figure in $300 B in power grid improvements.

So, from the above, we spend $2,012 B + $ 400 B + $150 B + $ 300 B = $2,862 B to build the energy generation capacity to replace the energy from petroleum and natural gas.

So for $1,100 T, we could replace 38% of our petroleum and natural gas energy, or 104% of our imported petroleum energy. Not a bad start.

And the GOP wanted to spend $2,000 B to ‘reform’ social security over the next 10 years.

How’s that for leadership. How's that for conservatism.

(Note: I am not suggesting the above energy 'policy', too unbalanced. It is just a back of the envelope calculation to illustrate how badly the GOP/Reich-Wing is squandering our money).

[jackstraw45]

64. As of Jan. 2005, $9,000,000,000 missing (BILLION)

Over 9 BILLION in cash NOT spent on reconstruction, NOT spent on weapons, NOT spent on security, NOT spent on training, NOT spent on oil wells...

MISSING!!!!

STOLEN. 9 BILLION DOLLARS of OUR MONEY!

[EVDebs]

76. In 2002 the DoD couldn't account for $2.3 TRILLION per CBS News

War on Waste
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/29/eveningnews/printable325985.shtml

""More money for the Pentagon, CBS News Correspondent Vince Gonzales reports, while its own auditors admit the military cannot account for 25 percent of what it spends.

"According to some estimates we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions," Rumsfeld admitted.

$2.3 trillion — that's $8,000 for every man, woman and child in America. To understand how the Pentagon can lose track of trillions, consider the case of one military accountant who tried to find out what happened to a mere $300 million.

"We know it's gone. But we don't know what they spent it on," said Jim Minnery, Defense Finance and Accounting Service.""

Heckofajob, Rummy.

[PinkyisBlue]

87. Missing Money

Look in Cheney and Rummy's back pockets. I bet the whole evil empire has our money stashed in some overseas accounts, waiting for them to withdraw it when our economy crashes. (And the money has been exchanged from dollars to euros, because the dollar will become worthless soon).

[AntiFascist]

65. But Ledeen wants a full-on war against Islam

Michael Ledeen, Karl Rove's foreign policy advisor who has been referred to as "Rove's brain", is critical of Bush in his latest editorial of November 30th. He is afraid that the president is about to surrender:

http://www.nationalreview.com/ledeen/ledeen200511300807.asp

First of all, notice how there is little mention in his editorial that Saddam's regime was run by Baathists, instead he wants to equate all Sunnis with the evil Baath party:

The war in Iraq was waged against an evil regime run by (minority) Sunnis.

It might help if he would have read this letter on Defending Iraq:

http://www.mail-archive.com/[e-mail]/msg00528.html

It has become clear to us that Baathists through their campaign of terror in Sunni areas are attempting to hijack the representation of the Sunnis.

<snip>

military campaigns to clean Sunni areas from Baathist and terrorist elements should be proceeded by intensive political and social campaigns and communications to separate the Baathists from the Sunni population. This will help us identify and isolate terrorists, and it will avoid the imposition of a catastrophic collective punishment on the Sunnis.



Secondly, Ledeen also sweepingly lumps together the Royal families, Sunnis, and all mullahs together with those who previously supported Saddam's regime:


The royal families, Baathists, and mullahs vastly prefer the kind of dictatorship imposed on the Iraqi people by Saddam and his (Sunni) Tikritis. They have been the Sunnis' biggest and boldest lobbyists, constantly issuing outrageously meddlesome statements from their own capitals and from meetings of the colossal failure known as the Arab League. They don't want democracy. They want the big guys to call the shots, and they want the Iraqi Sunnis to have power far beyond their real political strength.



Notice how the War on Terror which started out as war against Islamic extremism is now stealthily morphing into a holy war against all of Islam, with elements of ethnic cleansing. No wonder we need to spend $trillions on this war, Ledeen's Final Solution in the Middle East will not be easy.

[saigon68]

67. elements of ethnic cleansing

Hmmmm
Isn't the Hague looking into this ?

[EVDebs]

77. Dov Zakheim set the mold for DoD's policies

""Dr. Dov S. Zakheim is a former political and economic adviser to the United States government.
Zakheim earned his baccalaureate in government from Columbia University in 1970, and his doctorate in economics and politics at St. Antony's College, Oxford University. He has been an adjunct professor at the National War College, Yeshiva University, Columbia University and Trinity College (Connecticut), where he was presidential scholar. He is an ordained Orthodox Jewish rabbi.

He served in various Department of Defense posts during the Reagan administration, including Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Planning and Resources from 1985to 1987.

In 2001, Zakheim was CEO of SPC International, a subsidiary of System Planning Corporation, as well as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He was then appointed to be comptroller/Chief Financial Officer of United States Department of Defense, Undersecretary of Defense from 2001 to 2004 under the George W. Bush administration, and served in this capacity until April 2004. He is currently a Vice President of Booz Allen Hamilton.""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dov_S._Zakheim

His minions are still in place.

[savemefromdumbya]

68. I didn't give approval for this spending

I am an ordinary taxpayer - did you?

[Massacure]

70. Some people here seem to be deceived.

The current total for military spending in Iraq is $226 billion. That half a trillion figure probably includes Afghanistan and various other miscellaneous expenses.

Afghanistan was justified. We should have chased Bin Laden into Pakistan instead of attacking Iraq.

[gulfcoastliberal]

71. Yay! Maybe now the DLC dems can now demand victory from W!

Now that we have spent ourselves dry, victory is right around the corner. Oh Boy! What an idiots Murtha and Pelosi are! The DLC knows best! Oh yes they do:

DLC | New Dem Dispatch | December 1, 2005
Iraq and the Vital Center

Yesterday, President Bush unveiled a "plan for victory" to shore up sagging public confidence in his Iraq policies. Though it broke little new ground, the president's speech at the U.S. Naval Academy did provoke an unfortunate reaction from House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, who endorsed Rep. John Murtha's earlier call for a swift withdrawal of U.S. troops.

We share the widespread frustration with the Bush administration's utterly inept handling of Iraq's post-conflict rebuilding. But too much is at stake in Iraq for America to simply give up and come home. What Democrats really should demand from President Bush is victory, not a hasty departure.

http://www.dlc.org/ndol_ci.cfm?kaid=131&subid=192&contentid=253638

Can't get any better leadership than that! raging :sarcasm:

[Dead_Parrot]

73. So without the war, the US would only be

$7,636,066,508,140.10 in debt. Hmmm...

[lies and propaganda]

75. meanwhile Im being screamed at by douchebags

in the bar a few nights back because i was bitching that we had no money for NOLA because it was all going to the goddamned illegal war. Im sure that they dont give a fuck has something to do with it as well.

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

78. Congressional Appropriations

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/16?&sid=TSOPnfZjS&hd_count=297&xform_type=3&maxdocs=500&r_t=h&refer=&r_n=hr553.108&db_id=108&item=16&&w_p=Defense&attr=3&sel=TOC_47095&

BILL TOTALS
Appropriations for most military functions of the Department of Defense are provided for in the accompanying bill for the fiscal year 2005. This bill does not provide appropriations for military construction, military family housing, civil defense, or nuclear warheads, for which requirements are considered in connection with other appropriations bills.

The President's fiscal year 2005 budget request for activities funded in the Department of Defense Appropriations Bill totals $417,807,305,000 in new budget (obligational) authority. This amount includes $392,807,305,000 requested on February 3, 2004, as part of the President's overall fiscal year 2005 budget submission, and $25,000,000,000 requested in a budget amendment on May 12, 2004.

The amounts recommended by the Committee in the accompanying bill total $416,153,100,000 in new budget authority for the Department of Defense. This includes $25,000,000,000 for incremental costs of operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. 1

This total is $47,458,539,000 above the sums made available for the Department of Defense in fiscal year 2004. 2

An additional $780,300,000 has been provided in title IX of the bill, for emergency funding requirements of the Department of State.





MORE DETAILS AVAILABLE AT SITE.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cp109/cp109query.html
Choose your own Congressional Committee Report.

[KAZ]

79. That computes to somewhere around $100K/barrel...

... for what we've gotten out of the Iraqi soil for the last 2.5 years. Oh, and there's the 2100 American lives, and 25000 wounded. Oh, and some brown folks died. Hey, at least we've stayed the course.

[MetaTrope]

80. Might help ease things a bit

if the Pentagon could find that $8.8 billion in cash that they "mislaid" in Iraq.

Wonder how many airline tickets and box-cutters that will buy?

[Tight_rope]

81. WTF....There's go my unborn children's great great grandkids college fund!

[Oldtimeralso]

93. New Neocon policy!

No Child Left a Dime

[Maggie_May]

84. Have you noticed that Bush

has said nothing in his speeches about the cost of this war. I don't know about you guys but I have called and written my reps that I do not what my tax dollars spent in Iraq. Enough enough no more money to this war.

[Hissyspit]

86. Could've saved Social Security!

Fully funded Medicaid with this money!

[barb162]

88. and for what again?

[Torn_Scorned_Ignored]

92. List of those who believe we SHOULD Torture

These Congressmen/Women voted NAY on Senator McCains introduction into the Defense Appropriations Bill the nonTorture Legislation.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?r109:5:./temp/~r10910R950::

NAYS--122

Aderholt, Akin, Baker, Barrett (SC), Barton (TX), Bilirakis, Bishop (UT), Blackburn, Blunt, Boehner, Bonilla, Bonner, Bono, Brady (TX), Brown (SC), Burgess Burton (IN), Buyer, Calvert, Campbell (CA), Cannon, Cantor, Carter, Chabot, Coble, Cole (OK), Conaway, Crenshaw, Cubin, Culberson, Deal (GA), DeLay, Doolittle, Drake, Dreier, Everett, Feeney, Fossella, Foxx, Franks (AZ), Frelinghuysen, Gallegly, Garrett (NJ), Gillmor, Gingrey, Gohmert, Goode, Granger, Graves, Hall, Hart, Hastings (WA), Hayes, Hayworth, Hefley, Hensarling, Herger, Hobson, Hoekstra, Hostettler, Hunter, Istook, Jindal Johnson, Sam King (IA), King (NY), Kingston, LaHood, Lewis (CA), Lewis (KY), Linder, Lucas, Lungren, Daniel, E. Marchant Marshall, McHenry, McKeon, Mica, Miller (FL), Miller, Gary, Musgrave, Myrick, Neugebauer, Ney, Norwood, Nunes, Oxley, Pearce, Pence, Peterson (PA), Poe, Price (GA), Putnam, Radanovich, Rehberg, Renzi, Rogers (AL), Rogers (KY)

[Voltaire99]

94. Here, war piggies: have some more!

It's not like we were going to use it on education, housing, or job creation.