The cost of the Iraq War--the money keeps rolling

[Artegal 1]

This stupid war in Iraq meaningless, useless, and destined to be the most costly war ever.

Congress sent a $120 billion war spending bill to the White House tonight [May 24th], abandoning a call for most U.S. troops to leave Iraq . . . on the positive side . . . The bill also includes the first increase in the federal minimum wage since 1997, bringing it up $2.10 an hour to $7.25. Funding Provided to Date [as of February 2005] The Congress has appropriated $231 billion for costs associated with military and reconstruction operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and enhanced security at military facilities since 2001. The House approved another $67.5 billion on March 16, 2006. Since 9/11, Congress has passed at least one emergency bill to cover war costs, making supplemental spending the method of choice for the majority of funding for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the war on terror. Of the $510 billion spent thus far, $331.8 billion (about 65 percent) has come from supplemental spending legislation. If the so-called "bridge fund" included in the fiscal year 2007 appropriations bill is included, the total rises to $401.8 billion.

Compare now to a Cornell University study that placed the over-all total U.S. cost of the Vietnam war at $200 Billion. In year 2007 dollars the cost of the Vietnam war only amounts to only 869.5 Billion for a war which lasted just over 11 years. In just 4 years the Iraq war is already on a pace to double the cost of the Vietnam war. Some estimates put the Iraq war at eventually costing over 2 Trillion dollars.

Truly a great legacy that President Bush as left for himself in our nations' history.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yep - its an obscene amount of money we're spending over there. Just for once it would be nice to get our domestic priorities in order before we blow millions of

Ever notice there's always money to spend whenever we want to go to war, but the supply soon dries up when we talk about our maintaining and improving our national institutions. Like immigration, for example... Healthcare... Social Security...

[mawilson 2,133]

Ever notice there's always money to spend whenever we want to go to war, but the supply soon dries up when we talk about our maintaining and improving our national institutions. Like immigration, for example... Healthcare... Social Security...

I've noticed...

Congress would argue for days about spending or cutting 5-10 million dollars for

some domestic programs, yet they have no qualms about authorising 100 billion

dollars for Iraq.