Four Years On...
Today is the 4th Anniversary of the 2nd Gulf War.I'm not a pacifist - I strongly support our Armed Forces and do not believe that ALL wars are unjustified or immoral..
..but this one is.
To date, the death toll in Iraq reads as follows:
British Forces: 133
US Forces: 3,200
Iraqi Nationals: ???,000 (an estimated minimum of 56,000 to date)
The war is costing the US Government somewhere close to $200 Million USD a day, or $6 Billion USD a Month.
By the end of this fiscal year (September 2007) the US will have spent somewhere in the region of $456 Billion USD on Iraq.
Some analysts estimate the final cost to the US will be close to $2.5 Trillion USD (when long term expenditure such as ongoing care for those wounded in battle is factored in).
Figures for the UK don't seem to be so readily available, but the MOD estimates that we will have spent over £5 Billion GBP by the end of this financial year. That only allows for direct costs (ie fuel, ammunition, repairs to equipment etc) and doesn't include caring for wounded Service personnel.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, and a lot of the true costs haven't yet become apparent. One that impacts on our daily lives is all too obvious though - the price of Oil.
Every time you fill up your car with petrol, you can thank TB and Dubya for the extra pounds or dollars you're paying. The instability caused by the Gulf War conflict is largely to blame for the stratospheric rise in the price of Brent Crude.
These massive costs, human and fiscal, don't seem to have achieved too much either - at least not in my opinion. For instance:
Did we find WMD and did we prevent Saddam from using it?
Have we made life more tolerable for the majority of the Iraqi population?
Have we brought stability to the region as a whole?
Have our country's interests been furthered?
Have we prevented the use of torture in Iraq?
Are we now more secure than we were in 2003?
So many human lives have been sacrificed, and so much of our money spent, for so little - for a war so unjustified and immoral that 'evidence' had to be fabricated to get the support of Parliament.
What a great legacy for Tony to leave behind.
posted by Just... Why? @ 1:57 pm
10 Comments:
i hear you JW, and I agree. A totally unjustified war and a blot on our history.
What a waste. On everyones behalf.
It is hard to stomach. I watched an interview on tv the other night that just raked a US soldier over the coals for his actions, in which women and children were killed. My husband and I were getting kind of irriate at the line of questioning...I wondered it the interviewer had ever been in a war or where he thought his life was in jeopardy? These soldiers are damned if they do and damned if they dont. We need to leave. We have been there too long.
I am naive.
Where oh where has our JW gone...?
JW, you are missed, by more than one it appears. You must be busy at work. Email me sometime if you can, krist1969@hotmail.com That goes to anyone who wants to email me! lol :)
~ Kris
JW, the post you are left shaking your head about was in reference to a college football coach that the state where I live tried to hire. He accepted the job....for 1 day. He decided after 1 day to go back to the school be was coming from. We cant hire a coach is seems.
And in reference to Rosie, not only did she make that comment about the WTC building #7, I THINK, she also insinuated that the British soldiers being taken captive was just another 'ploy' to get our President to justify why the US should remain there.
Kris
When you going to post again, JW?
Hi!
Had to make my blog invite only - email me at wildcatblog@hotmail.co.uk if you still want to read
WC
x
I would ask Iraqi citizens outside of the Sunni Triangle is they think the war was a waste. 60 Minutes aired a segment on how the war has allowed the Kurds to flourish. Other areas outside of the Sunni Triangle have experienced an improved infrastructre and economy.
I will admit the absymal planning of this war and its human toll.
While it is prudent to point out the failed policies of this war, it would be equally prudent to point out some of the positive improvements made to an oppressed society.
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