Estimates of Iraq War Cost Were Not Close to Ballpark
How do we pay for this?
NYT-At the outset of the Iraq war, the Bush administration predicted that it would cost $50 billion to $60 billion to oust Saddam Hussein, restore order and install a new government.
Five years in, the Pentagon tags the cost of the Iraq war at roughly $600 billion and counting. Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and critic of the war, pegs the long-term cost at more than $4 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office and other analysts say that $1 trillion to $2 trillion is more realistic, depending on troop levels and on how long the American occupation continues.
Among economists and policymakers, the question of how to tally the cost of the war is a matter of hot dispute. And the costs continue to climb.
Inside Story – Cost of Iraq War – Pt. 1
Inside Story – Cost of Iraq War -Pt. 2
I think the Neo-Cons should pay for this whole thing, including providing the troops for the shooting gallery. Frankly, the Neo-Cons should just all move over there and let the Americans have their country back!
ooooohh, the dreaded neocons…anti-American, evil war mongering, big spending traitors lead by their fearless prez.
Since we’re discussing government underestimating cost of a program, name ONE that came in on budget. Another red herring from pacifist John.
Bush to give speech marking 5 years in Iraq
Bart
The real issue in Iraq, what is the strategy to get out before we go broke and the place remains containable. . The only we get out is an containment strategy and realizing that western democracy in the Middle East is a pipe dream short term.
If you think victory is a western style democracy in Iraq, 100 year stay may be on the light side.
bb
I think that, no matter how successful the Iraq War may possible conclude, people like John Konop will still declare it a monumental failure.
Why, after all, can democracy never work in Arab lands? Is it not natural for mankind to have command of themselves? Our founding fathers thought so. Or do people like John think Arabic peoples are so barbaric that they need to be dominated by the suppressing hand of a monarch?
Why is it unreasonalbe to expect greatness from other people?
Aubrey,
John has a one track mind leaing toward the far left. He incessantly attacks the cost of war, yet ignores the real problems causing our economy to stutter like SS, Medicare, Medicaid and all other entitlements.
Instead of worrying about getting out of Iraq, how about we find a way to get out of entitlement spending. I know that’s a foreign concept to pacifist libs like John, Hugh, et al, but it is what must be done sooner rather than later.
Democracy can and must work in the Middle East if there is ever to be peace. It is working in Israel with early signs of success in Iraq and the future state of Palestine. We may not like the leaders being chosen in these places, but at least they are being elected instead of taking over via the military.
Again I ask JOHN — name ONE government program that has come in on budget. If I recall, Medicare/caid programs were supposed to cost a very small fraction of what is now being spent. Where is the outrage over that boondoggle?
MEDICARE:
“The cost of Medicare is a good place to begin. At its start, in 1966, Medicare cost $3 billion. The House Ways and Means Committee estimated that Medicare would cost only about $ 12 billion by 1990 (a figure that included an allowance for inflation). This was a supposedly “conservative” estimate. But in 1990 Medicare actually cost $107 billion.” — Reason Magazine — http://www.reason.com/news/show/29339.html
2007 Medicare/Medicaid cost — $671 Billion.
Let’s compare the under estimation…Iraq/Afghanistan war against terrorism projected to cost $6B – $9B. Real cost $12B — not too bad by government standards.
So John, where is the outrage against entitlement spending (and don’t pop off with that BS that entitlements are paid for via payroll taxes…it just ain’t true)?
MEDICARE:
I do not support the current Medicare and Social Security system. The truth is most people pay in way more than they ever get. Yet it is irrational to compare this to money we are giving away in Iraq. Do you get tht the Iraqi people do not pay a tax for the free U.S. tax dollars given to them?
FYI
Poll: Most Americans Say War Not Worth It
64 Percent Say Results Of War Not Worth American Lives Lost
READ MORE
John
Do you consider The Marshall Plan as a waste? Do you think that we “just gave away” all that money for no reason? Should we have pulled all our troops out of Germany at the end of the WWII? Do you believe that The New Deal pulled the economy out of the Great Depression or did WWII have a larger part in that? Did the West Berliners pay a tax on the Berlin Air Lift? Why did we stick around to see that a democracy was set up in Germany after the war?
Marshal Plan
Did you know most of the goods were purchased from America? Did you know that much of it was a loan? Did you know the majority of the money was spent on building industry? Did you know the money was invested in an educated society that did not have divisions based on religion that had been killing each other since 7ooAD? How could any rational person compare western countries in Europe and Japan to Iraq?
…..The Marshall Plan aid was mostly used for the purchase of goods from the United States. The European nations had all but exhausted their foreign exchange reserves during the war, and the Marshall Plan aid represented almost their sole means of importing goods from abroad. At the start of the plan these imports were mainly much-needed staples such as food and fuel, but later the purchases turned towards reconstruction needs as was originally intended. In the latter years, under pressure from the United States Congress and with the outbreak of the Korean War, an increasing amount of the aid was spent on rebuilding the militaries of Western Europe. Of the some $13 billion allotted by mid-1951, $3.4 billion had been spent on imports of raw materials and semi-manufactured products; $3.2 billion on food, feed, and fertilizer; $1.9 billion on machines, vehicles, and equipment; and $1.6 billion on fuel.[33]
….Also established were counterpart funds, which used Marshall Plan aid to establish funds in the local currency. According to ECA rules 60% of these funds had to be invested in industry. This was prominent in Germany, where these government-administered funds played a crucial role lending money to private enterprises which would spend the money rebuilding. These funds played a central role in the reindustrialization of Germany. In 1949 – 50, for instance, 40% of the investment in the German coal industry was by these funds.[34] The companies were obligated to repay the loans to the government, and the money would then be lent out to another group of businesses……
READ MORE
John,
I’m still waiting for you to provide an example of ONE MAJOR SINGLE GOVERNMENT program that came in on budget. The war against terrorism is as close as anything I have ever seen.
Bart
Have you lost it?
We were told 50 billion to $60 billion and we make it back via oil revenue and the price of gas.
The figure is now close to 4 trillion and gas went from 1 buck a gallon to 4 dollars.
Show me one program this far off. You sound like a child you got caught and blames it on his friends because they did it!
John,
The original estimate was $6B – $9B per month…now at $12B per month. The total after 5 years is $500B, not $4T…where do you come up with this BS?
If anybody has lost it on this board, it would be you with your failure to acknowledge where the real problem lies…entitlements.
So again I ask since you are making such a big stink over the under estimation of war costs…name one government program that hit budget estimates….cue Jeopardy music…I’ll be waiting.
Bart
What are you talking about?
Oil will pay for rebuilding Iraq? No, wrong again
WASHINGTON — No oil for blood. The bumper sticker popular among left-leaning opponents of the conflict — no war for oil — has been turned on its head. There is no oil to be had for the shedding of American blood. Not for years anyway.
Remember the bold promises?
“Iraq has oil,” Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told Fortune magazine in 2002, discussing the potential cost of an Iraq invasion and how it would be met. “They have financial resources.”
Paul Wolfowitz, formerly Rumsfeld’s deputy, was bolder: “The oil revenues of that country could bring in between $50 (billion) and $100 billion over the course of the next two or three years,” he told Congress as the war began. “We are dealing with a country that can really finance its own reconstruction.” For his economic acumen, Wolfowitz was rewarded with the presidency of the World Bank.
READ MORE
John,
You’re making my point…thanks. Nothing government does ever comes in on budget.
War is a cost accepted in the Constitution. Show me where retirement, healthcare and redistribution are identified as obligations of our government.
According to the CBO, Medicare is already costing far more than receipts with SS not far behind…2017. Do you not see that these entitlements are the problem?
Bart
Did you read this commment?
MEDICARE:
I do not support the current Medicare and Social Security system. The truth is most people pay in way more than they ever get. Yet it is irrational to compare this to money we are giving away in Iraq. Do you get tht the Iraqi people do not pay a tax for the free U.S. tax dollars given to them?
Poll: 71 percent think Iraq spending hurts economy
(CNN) — More than 7 out of 10 Americans think government spending on the war in Iraq is partly responsible for the economic troubles in the United States, according to results of a recent poll.
In the CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll conducted last weekend, 71 percent said they think U.S. spending in Iraq is a reason for the nation’s poor economy. Twenty-eight percent said they didn’t think so.
The weekend poll, timed to coincide with the Iraq war’s fifth anniversary, also showed little U.S. support for the conflict. Fewer than one in three respondents — 32 percent — said they support the war, while 66 percent said they oppose it.
Full story
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/03/19/poll-71-percent-think-iraq-spending-hurts-economy/
John,
You have got to stop relying upon polls to justify your liberal opinions. Do you really believe 71% have even the slightest grasp of how the government spends our money?
Given that the MSM hits Americans daily with cost of war but never mentions anything else, I’m surprised the percentage wasn’t much higher.
This horse is beaten to death. I stand by my position in favor of the war and need to end entitlements. You obviously side with B. Hussein Obama and other ultra libs.
The Constitution is on my side, marxist DNC platform on yours.
Bart
9 trillion in the red and growing is your side!
How do we pay for this?
Pay?
GOPers don’t pay, Democrats pay!
Dems pay…LOL! Where do dems get their money…
bb, your finger pointing on this thread says it all.
1000% overrun on a government project is pretty substantial. The Iraq War isn’t a program, it’s a project. A project that will fail (sorry to be such a Debby Downer).
Panama Canal – 106% cost overrun
Hoover Dam – 12% cost overrun
Erie Canal – 46% cost overrun
These were all government projects that had a clear beginning and a clear end. Our mission in Iraq was presented (sold) similarly, with a beginning and an end, and a price tag of $60 billion.
Only in Conservativeville is someone promoted and praised for such ineptitude. Congratulations.
Suck it up and admit that your buddy Bush blew it. The guy is a complete idiot.
Can I have my portion of the war cost back please? Oh yeah, that’s right, we haven’t even started paying on it yet. Duh!
What 1000% overrun?
Initial est.: $6b – $9B per month
Actual cost to date: $563B after 5 years = less than $10B per month
No terrorist attacks on America or its ships, embassies since.
I would say Bush and company did exactly what they said, accomplished exactly what was needed and setup future administrations with an opportunity to find peace in the mid east….win, win, win!
Captain
What about the cheap gas prices?
bb you’re high my friend. Must be the good stuff your smoking.
Initial estimates for Iraq occupation = $60 billion.
Cost to date (limited to only approved budget, no externalities) = $600 billion.
That’s ten times the original estimate. That’s 1000%.
If you need math tutoring I’m happy to help. I understand that bible study doesn’t always allow for basic life skills.
Bart
That is the same math that got us 8 trillion in the red and growing!