Blogroll Me!
Can America Afford All Its Wars?
Remember Osama bin Laden ?
A 'real' terrorist from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (for so long ruled so ruthlessly by the best of BushCo's Royal family friends), and most definitely not from either Iraq or Iran.
A truly terrible, mayhem making madman - who Saddam Hussein couldn't bear, wouldn't wear, and 'saw off' so many times - in no uncertain terms.
What a pity so many people have so plainly forgotten so much, in such a short time.
Well, we haven't.
Nor has Mister Eric Margolis.
The still elusive Osama bin Laden, who said the only way to expel US influence from the Muslim World was to bleed the US financially, must be beaming over the success of his grand strategy.Now, while we've often found ourselves at odds with some of Eric's own opinions, we've never found fault with his fantastic flair for fact finding, nor with his amazing inborn ability to always amalgamate same - in his so well put together and so easy to understand, prime journalistic pieces.
More from Margolis.
And there's more.The US government has just estimated that President George Bush’s occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq, and his so-called `war on terror,’ will cost at least $690 billion by the end of next year.
That’s more than the total cost to America of World War I, the Korean War, or Vietnam, and second only to the $2 trillion cost of World War II (in current dollars).
The whole sordid story of the 100,000 `private contractors’ employed by the US in Iraq has only begun to emerge. According to the US Government Accountability Office, at least 48,000 of these – let’s use the correct term, mercenaries - are private gunmen working for hundreds of shadowy US military corporations like Blackwater and Vinnell.Then there's this.
These heavily-armed desperados are a law unto themselves and under no supervision. Some of these mercenaries make US $1,000 daily in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The White House wants to help pay for its foreign wars by slashing spending on health and seniors.
While the Washington DC police no longer dare patrol crime-infested southern parts of America’s capitol, President Bush and VP Cheney are sending the 82nd Airborne Division to try to pacify Baghdad.
If this isn’t the extreme theater of the absurd, I don’t know what is.
Here's the link. Head on over to Eric's place to read the rest.
* Yup. All those born with brains knew it all along.
*
posted by Richard at Tuesday, February 13, 2007
7 Comments:
Something else that has to be remembered is that every tax-payers' dollar spent on these wars is an extra dollar to line the good ole buys' pockets.
You know, like those running Carlyle, Halliburton, Blackwater and all the other sweet-dealers draining the public purse.
Anonymous, Bingo!
Remember Richard summing it up ages ago when he called it 'The greatest heist in history'?
Bootlian,
Great link. Yet more proof - fot those that ever needed any. Thanks.
The US war profiteers running the show for the last few yeras couldn't give a shit for the lives anyone -- the ordinary American people included.
Richard was right, Rex. Fortunes worth billions have already been made since all this started, and they're still growing - with every extra drop of blood splilled.
Mr Old Brit,
I wish I'd found your blog a long time ago. I've been reading through your posts and am impressed. You can count me as a new regular. Please keep up your good works.
Richard, what's not mentioned is just as important (if not more so), are the billions in bribes cum sweetners and the like - to foreigners (world wide) at both official and unofficial levels - handed out merely to enlisted more (joke) members of the 'Coalition of the willing'.
God alone knows how much has been handed out that way.
The tactic of bleeding the US financially makes more sense than anything else bin Laden might have done. It's always been the most effective way to fight a foe that's many times more powerful: make the prize worthless.
In other words, ensure that your foe would have to spend defeating you far outstrips any potential benefit.
The Iraqi insurgents are currently succeeding in using this tactic to drive the US from Iraq, but bin Laden will settle for nothing less than getting the US out of the region altogether.
That's right Gordo. That sort of simple strategy worked well with the Soviets. The Afghan fiasco was the last straw for them, and I can't see, why it wouldn't work with the States.
Specially, since they are already living on mountains of borrowed money. Soon as the lenders can't take the Yankees' arrogance and bullying any longer, and stop lending, the whole Ponzi-sceme or economic house-of-cards will collapse into itself.
Post a Comment
<< Home