While listening to Joe Biden's speech during the Democratic Convention he made reference to a statistic that I had not heard before then. It seemed to be an incredulous statement. I had to rewind the speech to make certain I had heard it correctly.
He had stated that Iraq has an 80 billion dollar surplus. I simply could not believe that it was true. How could this be? Certainly the majority of the American people do not know this or they would feel exactly as I do.
Further research indicated that there was more than just a grain of truth in what Joe Biden had said. In a New York Times article written by James Glanz and Campbell Robertson I discovered that by years end Iraq will have an approximate 78 billion dollars in surplus.
How does that make me feel? It makes me furious, it makes me angry, and it makes me frustrated. How about you?
There were a couple of other interesting facts in the article that I have referenced. United States taxpayers have spent 23.2 billion dollars to rebuild Iraq. Iraq has spent 3.9 billion dollars in those same areas.
A large part of Iraq's current surplus is sitting in the Federal Reserve Bank. America will be paying Iraq nearly 436 million dollars in interest payments on that amount.
It honestly makes less than no sense to myself that we have put our nation's economy at risk to finance a war where the people that we are supposed to be helping will do little to nothing to help themselves.
The Iraq war is costing us by one account 7.1 billion a month. The total cost of the war some experts are claiming will be over one trillion dollars. The American taxpayers have financed this war and will continue to finance this war years after it is over as we attempt to pay down the debt owed to the nations and the public who have lent us the money necessary to stay afloat. Our total outstanding debt right now is nearing 10 trillion dollars.
We need to bring our troops home. Three years is not soon enough for me. Having the majority of our troops home by Christmas would be an ideal goal but will never happen with the current administration.
John McCain continues to look down his nose at the American people as he tell us that we cannot afford to lose this war. Mr. McCain we cannot afford to maintain this war. Your definition of victory will cost us. A stable Iraqi democracy may never come to fruition no matter how much money we throw at the problem or how many American lives are lost. It will not be for lack of trying or because we lost but because the problems arise from within the culture. A culture that has deep roots.
First of all we have not lost this war. We have rid the world and Iraq of Saddam Hussein. We have decimated the terrorist forces that threaten us in Iraq. They have held a national election. Whether or not democracy in Iraq is sustainable will only be decided after we leave and whether we leave now or in one hundred years will have little influence. It is also important to note that Iraq's current elected administration does not want us there.
Secondly by having our troops in the Middle East we have weakened both our economy and our ability to protect our homeland. Is that what you call winning? I call it foolish.
Of course the terrorists have regrouped in Afghanistan which is now the area that everyone seems to think that we need to focus on. Once we return stability there they will have probably moved back to Iraq or some other Arab nation. We will never be able to effectively rid the world of the anti-American influence in Iran without another trillion dollar war. Policing the Arab nations is not our responsibility. It is not even feasible, realistic or desirable. They are certainly laughing at us as we chase them around the desert from nation to nation while they hide in their caves and we send their leaders money in the form of oil payments. I do not like to think of our enemies laughing at us.
The initial call to action was due to our governments assertion that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. We can reassure ourselves that if Iraq did have weapons of mass destruction that we would have rid Iraq of those fictional weapons.
There is one other cost that must not be discounted. That cost being the loss of many brave men and women. The fact that we have lost less lives than in other wars provides me with little solace. Although I should not speak to their families it is likely that it would provide little solace for them as well. The men and women currently serving as well as the ones that we have lost deserve our utmost respect and admiration.
That sacrifice alone is too much for a nation that does not want us there and who will not take care of themselves.
Perhaps Iraq will loan us the money to rebuild the levees surrounding New Orleans to a point that they are able to hold back the waters from even the most unimaginable storm surge. That would be money well spent.
Dan Bimrose is the creator of coffeeandprozac.com a website devoted to making people think, laugh or cry. Daily Opinions, Editorials, and Stories He suggests dropping bread crumbs so that you can find your way back on a daily basis. Dan has also just unveiled his latest website tuesdaysreleases.com which provides a convenient place for people to discover the latest DVD movies which have been released at their local video store.
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Great article. Yes, I am very angry. Iraq should be paying us interest, instead of the other way around. Why is Iraq "loaning" us money? Why is that happening?
Dan, what more can be said? Our blood, tears and money and still people[ the haves or wants] vote for these politicans. Yes and to say the Democrats are any better, please. The only thing I will say about Obama and I do mean the only thing, he was against this war from the beginning.
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