In the days before the war, the Pentagon estimated that the war in Iraq would cost about $50 billion. White House economic advisor Lawrence Lindsey predicted that the cost could go as high as $200 billion, and President Bush fired him for saying so.
But those predictions were off the mark by an incredible degree. The direct costs of the war are more than $300 million a day, an eventual total of $700 billion. Including indirect costs, the total price tag could be higher than $2 trillion.
The polls indicate that President Bush is at his lowest public approval rating and it is likely the war plays a big factor in the public's perception. Late last year, I ran an article warning about the extremely high cost of the current Iraq war.
The Brookings Institute recently estimated the real human cost of this war, apart from spreadsheets, politics and, of course, all the priceless, precious lives of our servicemen and innocent Iraqi citizens already lost, as detailed in this excellent CNN.com video.
So far, the price tag has been $350 billion (although, as detailed above, it is likely to be much more before the war ends.) In the United States, $350 billion could buy:
This article provoked many comments, and one of the most spirited discussions yet, from many perspectives, on Vital Votes. Replying to them, reader Marianne from Belleville, Michigan said:
"We should know how much the war costs. It should not be 'off budget' for our children to pay later. We have never had a war in the history of the U.S. that we did not pay for with taxes. This is the first. "That is a fact whether you agree with the war or disagree with it. "It does not make you unamerican, liberal, conservative, or anything else to say, hey, this costs a lot of money, and how are we paying for it?"
"We should know how much the war costs. It should not be 'off budget' for our children to pay later. We have never had a war in the history of the U.S. that we did not pay for with taxes. This is the first.
"That is a fact whether you agree with the war or disagree with it.
"It does not make you unamerican, liberal, conservative, or anything else to say, hey, this costs a lot of money, and how are we paying for it?"
On the funnier side, Dr. Russ Bianchi wrote:
If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 Soldiers. The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 for the Same period. That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capitol, which has some of the strictest Gun Control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq. Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington.
If you consider that there has been an average of 160,000 troops in the Iraq theatre of operations during the last 22 months, and a total of 2,112 deaths, that gives a firearm death rate of 60 per 100,000 Soldiers.
The firearm death rate in Washington D.C. is 80.6 per 100,000 for the Same period. That means that you are about 25% more likely to be shot and killed in the U.S. Capitol, which has some of the strictest Gun Control laws in the nation, than you are in Iraq.
Conclusion: The U.S. should pull out of Washington.