The BushCo gift that just keeps on giving.

[rubato]

1 election stolen by the SC and 1 bad decision by the voters really racked up the costs:

We've borrowed 2T$ for BushCo mistakes already and have 800,000 people with disabilities from the wars, most of whom are filing for complete disability.
The VA budget has tripled to $140B
TriCare, medical care for the military now costs $58B/yr

___________________________________--
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/da88f8fe-63e9 ... z2ItuOMD5m

No US peace dividend after Afghanistan

By Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes
Bad decisions exact a high price, write Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes

Nearly 12 years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan began, a war-weary America is getting ready to leave. But there will be little in the way of a peace dividend for the US economy once the fighting stops.

The direct costs of the war are already $700bn. ... "

_________________________

See link for article.


yrs,
rubato

[dales]

The linked article requires one to sign up, no thanks.

[Econoline]

I think I must have registered to read the Financial Times website at some point in the past (I don't remember when) because I was already registered. Here's part of the article. (I'm probably straining the boundaries of "fair use" here, but they have a tool that would let me share the article on Facebook, which I don't use, but I do use this here Plan B site. What the hell. I didn't copy and paste the whole thing, and I think the FT can probably afford to let a relatively small group like us read this much of their precious prose.)

No US peace dividend after Afghanistan
By Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes
Bad decisions exact a high price, write Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes

---

Nearly 12 years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan began, a war-weary America is getting ready to leave. But there will be little in the way of a peace dividend for the US economy once the fighting stops.

The direct costs of the war are already $700bn. The original mission was to root out al-Qaeda and the Taliban. But in 2003, the US shifted nearly all of its attention and resources to Iraq. The Taliban regrouped and strengthened in Afghanistan, making the conflict far more expensive. Meanwhile, al-Qaeda shifted operations into Pakistan, Yemen and Mali, where France this month sent troops.

US forces have struggled in Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain, where getting supplies and munitions has been a complex logistical exercise. Then came the ill-fated “surge” strategy, which put 30,000 more US troops on the ground with little if any military gain. There were 3,000 attacks on US and allied forces in 2012 – a figure little changed from 2009, when President Barack Obama’s administration decided on the change in strategy.

The surge itself was expensive. But the way we conducted the war unnecessarily increased its costs. For instance, the closure of the land route through Pakistan for eight months in reprisal for a US drone attack in November 2011 that inadvertently killed 24 Pakistani soldiers added billions to the transport bill. Another $90bn has been devoted to “reconstruction” aid in Afghanistan – the largest amount spent by the US since the Marshall plan, with little to show for it. Endemic corruption among local contractors and officials has drained money from the budget.

Much of this red ink will dry up once Nato troops withdraw. But the true cost of the war is only just beginning. Indeed, the costs after withdrawal may exceed those during the war. Choices made in the past decade mean high costs for years to come – and will constrain other national security spending.

[Sean]

The linked article requires one to sign up, no thanks.

At least you're not being drafted!

[dales]

Hey!

I was 1A (available for immediate service).

I had a high draft number (352 out of 365).

[oldr_n_wsr]

I'm one of those "tweeners" who never had to register (born 1958).

[rubato]

Some moron Republican goes to war in two countries and pretends we don't have to pay for it. Pretends we don't even have to pay for the half-million casualties who we will be supporting for the next 50 years.

How fucking stupid are those people?





yrs,
rubato

[dales]

How fonking stupid are you, there's a big D dem in office now for the past 4+ years.

Stop the gadammed thing already!

[rubato]

How fonking stupid are you, there's a big D dem in office now for the past 4+ years.

Stop the gadammed thing already!

Obama completed the pullout of combat units from Iraq and is doing the same in Afghanistan. But Obama cannot go back in time and undo the harm done. Neither can we. But it is important to recall so we don't elect someone that stupid and who lies like that ever again.



yrs,
rubato