Arrogant Indebted Nation
The federal deficit and unemployment figures rose during the 2004 presidential election and 2006 congressional elections along with U.S. and coalition casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq. Iraq, like Vietnam, is a reminder of U.S. hubris and illusion. America is an unwelcome occupier losing geopolitical capital at U.S. taxpayer expense. The cost of the Iraq war is over four times greater than the value of the oil America is securing for itself. Joseph Stiglitz, a former Clinton administration economist and a Nobel Prize-winner, and Linda Bilmes, a Harvard University professor, took a broad approach to accounting for the Iraq war, including valuations for lives lost and individuals injured, and attached a price tag of as much as $2 trillion.
The Iraq War has annually since 2003 fueled the largest U.S. emergency spending bills. In 2006 the Senate voted to allow the national debt to swell to nearly $9 trillion to prevent the first-ever default on Treasury notes. The increased debt level represents about $30,000 for every American taxpayer. The war on terror has now lasted longer than World War II and is portrayed by Washington’s spin doctors more like a corporate marketing pitch than progress against the enemy. The political spin was best summarized by President Bush in one of his most famous Bushism in 2004. “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
The Bush administration’s piecemeal funding of the Iraq war is supposedly going to be terminated by the new Democratic Congress. The Democratic Congress promised to re-assert more control over the monthly billions of dollars spent on the war with no congressional oversight. The congressional power of the purse must be re-asserted by Congress to manage the wars America is fighting. Congressional control over money is imbedded in the Constitution and is one of the most powerful weapons Congress has which has been ceded to the White House. Congress can and must impose restrictions on how money is spent and demand more detailed information from the White House on its recipients, beneficiaries and goals with timelines. Any reason benchmarks and standards of progress are not included in the bills approving funding? The White House and Pentagon arguments that military demands are unpredictable and military demands can change quickly are no longer acceptable by We the Maids.
When the costs of the Vietnam War were eventually absorbed into the normal budget, it brought about a quick peace that Americans and Vietnamese today mutually cherish and enjoy. The payment of extended military operations through a series of emergency requests with limited inhibited congressional scrutiny is no longer acceptable. Americans have the right to know the true cost of the wars.
Since the 9/11 attacks, spending on the military outside of the regular budget process, primarily for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has totaled more than $400 billion.
The Iraq Study Group made 79 recommendations. Recommendations 46, 72 and 78 deserve special mention. Under separate headings dealing with the military, the federal budget and the nation’s intelligence agencies, they share one basic idea: Government officials should not lie to the public or each other, especially in matters of war.
Why do We the Apathetic Maids need an unelected panel of political career has-beens to tell us we deserve the truth? The report was a delicately worded indictment of America ─ and its humiliating defeat in Iraq and the Middle East.
The Iraq War has annually since 2003 fueled the largest U.S. emergency spending bills. In 2006 the Senate voted to allow the national debt to swell to nearly $9 trillion to prevent the first-ever default on Treasury notes. The increased debt level represents about $30,000 for every American taxpayer. The war on terror has now lasted longer than World War II and is portrayed by Washington’s spin doctors more like a corporate marketing pitch than progress against the enemy. The political spin was best summarized by President Bush in one of his most famous Bushism in 2004. “Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.”
The Bush administration’s piecemeal funding of the Iraq war is supposedly going to be terminated by the new Democratic Congress. The Democratic Congress promised to re-assert more control over the monthly billions of dollars spent on the war with no congressional oversight. The congressional power of the purse must be re-asserted by Congress to manage the wars America is fighting. Congressional control over money is imbedded in the Constitution and is one of the most powerful weapons Congress has which has been ceded to the White House. Congress can and must impose restrictions on how money is spent and demand more detailed information from the White House on its recipients, beneficiaries and goals with timelines. Any reason benchmarks and standards of progress are not included in the bills approving funding? The White House and Pentagon arguments that military demands are unpredictable and military demands can change quickly are no longer acceptable by We the Maids.
When the costs of the Vietnam War were eventually absorbed into the normal budget, it brought about a quick peace that Americans and Vietnamese today mutually cherish and enjoy. The payment of extended military operations through a series of emergency requests with limited inhibited congressional scrutiny is no longer acceptable. Americans have the right to know the true cost of the wars.
Since the 9/11 attacks, spending on the military outside of the regular budget process, primarily for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has totaled more than $400 billion.
The Iraq Study Group made 79 recommendations. Recommendations 46, 72 and 78 deserve special mention. Under separate headings dealing with the military, the federal budget and the nation’s intelligence agencies, they share one basic idea: Government officials should not lie to the public or each other, especially in matters of war.
Why do We the Apathetic Maids need an unelected panel of political career has-beens to tell us we deserve the truth? The report was a delicately worded indictment of America ─ and its humiliating defeat in Iraq and the Middle East.
posted by Peter de Krassel's Custom Maid Politics at 10:49 PM
1 Comments:
Its pretty insane when you realize that literally every single person in the entire US of A could have been bought a million dollar home for what we have poured into Iraq. It just kills me as I pass the homeless section of my city (Portland, Oregon) every day on my way to work and back. Not that I or many would even want a million dollar home but every last person could have been provided abundantly with their physical and mental health needs. Our tax dollars are literally being used for slaughter and slander. Praying for a brighter time.
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