Sunday, May 30, 2010

One Trillion Dollars, Down The Drain

Seven years after George W. Bush declared "mission accomplished" in Iraq, the United States' misadventure in that country -- and Afghanistan, and Pakistan (and likely Iran, if the ideologically unhinged regain control) -- reached a reality-based milestone this morning: One trillion dollars.

Despite the spectacular, counterproductive failure associated with the United States' decision to invade the wrong country, most Americans have been insulated from the costs. Iraq, not Pennsylvania, was thrown into murderous chaos. Afghan civilians, not Pittsburghers, have been killed and dismembered by poorly aimed weapons. Pakistani children, not ours, must wonder whether drone-delivered explosives will shatter their lives today.

By lowering taxes while air-dropping cash by the pallet into Iraq (literally; the pallets in the photograph, left, hold $100 bills, part of more than 350 tons of cash delivered in a single operation), the United States' political leaders also enabled American taxpayers to avoid defer financial reckoning.

The per-capita tab exceeds $3,000. Because that figure includes infants, it is more meaningful to examine a family-of-four figure -- $12,000 -- or to consider that a family with above-average income is liable for $20,000 or more. Plus interest, thanks to the Bush tax cuts.

More than 5,000 Americans have been killed, and many more injured, while fighting in this mess. (Many more Afghans, Iraqis and Pakistanis -- far too many of them noncombatants, including children -- have died or been maimed.) These losses have been felt primarily in disadvantaged neighborhoods, almost exclusively in military families.

These failures, these wrongs, these outrages have been conducted in the name of every citizen of the United States, on our dime. We may have been able to dodge the cost -- so far -- but we can not avoid responsibility. This blood is on our hands.

Infinonytune: One Trillion Dollars, Anti-Flag (from G20 soundtrack)

3 comments:

Conservative Mountaineer said...

One year after Barack Hussein Obama and his minions (Reid/Pelosi) pased the nearly $1Billion stimulusnbill (a/k/a Puokulus Bill), _resident Obama declared "mission accomplished" as his desired 10% unemployment has been reached and his desire to take-over the auto, the health care and the financial services industries are almost complete.

That would be a more appropiate representation of the facts that your misrepresentation of the 'Mission Accomplished' banner. This has been debunked before.

You're a typicial liberal spewing lies.

Infinonymous said...

We attacked the wrong country.

We have spent one trillion dollars.

We have killed countless civilians.

We have lost thousands of soldiers; and tens of thousands more have been injured, in various manners.

If you believe any of those statements is a falsehood, you either possess new information (which would be welcomed) or are daft.

If you believe the spending of stimulus funds is remotely comparable to the decision to invade Iraq, the botching of the occupation, and the costs of the decision to follow the "New American Century" blueprint, you might wish to have your moral compass calibrated.

little_minx said...

Conservative Mountaineer: The stimulus bill never killed anyone.