When US troops invaded Iraq in March 2003, the Bush administration predicted that the war would be self-financing and that rebuilding the nation would cost less than USD 2b.
President Bush's economic adviser and head of the National Economic Council, suggested that they might reach $200 billion. But this estimate was dismissed as “baloney” by the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.
The Bush Administration was wrong about the benefits of the war and it was wrong about the costs of the war too.
Even in the best case scenario, these costs are projected to be almost ten times the cost of the first Gulf War, almost a third more than the cost of the Vietnam War, and twice that of the First World War
In fact Bush's Iraqi adventure will cost America - just America - a conservatively estimated $3 trillion.
Daily military operations (not counting, for example, future care of wounded) have already cost more than 12 years in Vietnam, and twice as much as the Korean war.
The United States has a long-term cost of taking care of many, many thousands of disabled veterans for the rest of their lives.
Most Americans have yet to feel these costs. The price in treasure has, in a sense, been financed entirely by borrowing.
Who is profiting from this war? The countries that are the oil exporters and the defense contractors.

For more information read at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/feb/28/iraq.afghanistan
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article3419840.ece
http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/77663/
Antonios Symeonalis
Adelaide

Antonios

just out of curiosity.. would you prefer to deny the Iraqi's who all voted some time back the freedom they thought their vote was giving them?

You only 'vote' with a multiple choicd of candidates when you have a democracy. You vote for the ONLY candidate when you have a Sadaam Hussien who simply has your childrens eyes gouged out or their tongues cut off in front of you if you oppose him.

Human Rights.. yes.. we should have them in Iraq. Who is going to fight for them? Only fighting (against criminals, sectarian extremists,and misguided nationalists (who in fact sectarian)) will do it.

Aaah what the heck..lets abandon all those Iraqis who trusted us, and hand them on a platter to Saddam Wannabes and let them just kill each other to the last man eh.

Let's cave in to the base propoganda of the Left who don't give a damn about a stable country, all they want is ongoing turmoil because out of 'turmoil' the 'revolution' can emerge. With them being the most organized. Hey.. that's why they don't need a majority or even a large force...they just need two things

1/ Turmoil.
2/ Tight organization.

David
The Bush administration said many lies before the war in Iraq, one of them was about the cost of the war. Do not you think the difference from 2 billion to three trillion is very big? Who will pay this money? American Tax payers! Do you think Bush went to Iraq because he was interested for the democracy or for Iraqis or to punish Saddam? He went for the oil and ONLY for the oil? The only thing he did in Iraq was the dead of hundred of thousands of Iraqis, the waste of trillions of dollars and over all a good present to Iran. Bush took the Iraq from Arabs and gave it to Iran, to his worst enemy! Do you think the Iraqi Democracy will savvy when Americans leave Iraq? Forget it. Today is in Iraq the president of Iran, he promised 1 Billion dollars to Iraq, why?
You know all the top leaders of the Shiites(the majority of Iraqi government), including the religious leader was in Iran. Do not worry soon, very soon the sharia law will be in Iraq, thanks to president Bush.
Three trillion dollars for nothing when USA competitors become stronger and stronger Bush has created huge problems to his country and I feel sorry for American people, they deserved a better president.
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Oh shutup A Symeonakis your nothing but a babbling fool! I have read some of the other garbage posts you have made and you are close to the most vociferous windbag on this forum.

The facts are that hundreds of thousands of children died because of UN sanction on Iraq between the end of the gulf war and the start of the second one. To ignore this you are either very myopic or the deaths of hundreds of thousands of small children are irrelevant in your Demented mind set. Lets just say it was for the oil forget the children don’t you think!
And can you expand on this “we are just there for the oil” This stupid statement that pops up all the time is such an enigma! Saddam was quite happy to sell oil to the west so why did we need to go there to take it?

EasyTimes
--so why did we need to go there to take it?-- When Saudi officials asked USA Vise president why they wanted to invade into Iraq he answered <<because we can do it!>> Bush's administration thought they could go to Baghdad very easy, the Iraqis should welcome them as liberators, and of cause they could grab the oil without problems. Everything in their fantasy was OK. Even a 5 years old child could make a better plan for this war. Now it is very late, Americans have to pay for nothing, more than 3 trillion dollars. DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT? THREE TRILLION DOLLARS FOR NOTHING!
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

In an overwhelmingly Arab region, it is non-Arab Iran that is establishing the strongest ties with Iraq. No comparable Arab leader has visited Iraq officially since the fall of Saddam Hussein.(From BBC)
Three trillion USA dollars costs the USA gift to Iran. President Bush is very generous to top Country's enemy. Who will pay the 3 trillion dollars? American people of cause! haha!
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

1) Why on earth hasn't the Australian government had the sense to sell arms to America? Some of that 3 trillion could have done a lot of good here-could have paid off a lot of mortgages.............subsidised a lot of rents..... built hospitals........

2) a coincidence and nothing else of course. The US went into Iraq just when the French, the Russians and the Chinese were about to sign a major agreement to open up a very large oil-field in Iraq. According to Time magazine, so it has to be true. And it was the French, the Russians and the Chinese who were most vociferous in opposing the invasion.

ASymeonakis - The 3 trillion you talk about which it has cost includes money which would have been spent anyway in the military budget. Sure its sneaky of you to claim that the 3 tril could have been spent on other things like saving the whales and reducing green house gas emissions but actually most of it would have been spent on military things anyway.
HenryVIII – The only reason the French, Russians and Chinese got those contracts was for political reason so that they would work against the Americans in an invasion as you pointed out.

Dear EasyTimes
43% of US 2007 Taxes have wasted for current military spending and cost of past wars. ONLY 3% went for science, energy and environment. What is this? How can you compete other countries with this kind of budget? Sorry sir but this kind of budget is very stupid, dangerous for the future of USA. If USA do not change its militaristic policy soon most of your taxes will go to cover the costs of past wars. 1% of Americans are in prison! You have no money for social programs, Neo-conservatives will destroy America.

Allocation of US 2007 Taxes

43% CURRENT MILITARY SPENDING AND COST OF PAST WARS
11% Interest on non military share of federal Dept
20% Health reaserch & services
12% responses to Poverty
7% Government operations
3% Social Programs
3% SCIENCE, ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT
1% Non military International Programs

Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

I dont know where you got those figures from but I doubt they are right!
"43% CURRENT MILITARY SPENDING AND COST OF PAST WARS" what does cost of past wars mean?

Here is the 2007 budget -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_budget,_2007

Now ASymeonakis you should apologie for deliberately lying and trying to deceive the readers of OLO!

the only consolation for the brutal effects of american foreign policy is the resulting economic decay, which will ultimately reduce their capacity to do murder for profit.

Dear EasyTimes,
You know very well that I am not lying and trying to deceive the readers of OLO! You know very well who is the real lier, who said us for Iraq's weapons of mass, who said us for cooperation between Saddam and Al-Qaeda, who said us for the row material from Niger, who said us for a low cost war when it overpassed the 3 trillion dollars, who said us that our world now is safer, remember the London, Istanbul, Madrid, Bali, Pakistan etc bombs, remember that the Iraq converted to a huge training camp for Al-Qaeda. You know very well whose lies have cost trillions of dollars and took the life of many hundreds of thousands of innocent people.
About your question The U.S. Government says that military spending amounts to 20% of the budget, The Center for Defense Information (CDI) reports 51%, the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) reports 43%, and The War Resisters League claims 54%. You can visit the web sites of the CDI, FCNL or The War Resisters League for more details.
Antonios Symeonakis
Adelaide

Free Offering to the West Papuan OPM leader

The magnitude of the Indonesia military in West Papua tremendously spreading out in the every single corner of West Papua. Yesterday in Wamena district, in the late morning on 3rd of March, the Major of army, Colonel Kav Burhanudin Siagian has invited the whole series of the Troops to manipulate and intimidating the civil society with large amount of the Troops, while Siagian has offering the West Papuan OPM leader Barnabas Telenggen included his 36 followers with the massive amount of Money with the military forces.

However, Siagian has acknowledged that, the reason why Barnabas and his followers coming down and implicating with the integrity of Indonesia Government from the jungle to the nearest of the town is to prevent their safety and awareness of them selves.

43 West Papuan the boat people Sadrak Nawipa report to the crewmembers that, it is the way that Indonesia Government expressing to distorting and eliminating the fact of the things what going on in West Papua trough the tension by tension with its Military forces. While its Government targeting to achieve it’s plot that constructed since the integrity of its Government with West Papua by 1963.

Every single rules that endorsing and has drilled by the Centre Government for West Papua is to fulfil the demand of its government to erosion the ethnic group of West Papuan, aquaculture destroying such as illegal login, while the Special Autonomy the phase of 21, 2001, has remaining failure with the evidence that stated that Special Autonomy is the mother of the Criminology, brutality, generator of the genocide system, and has an intention to enlarging the dimension of the Indonesia Military in West Papua. Sadrak Says.

George Morgan welcome!
I do not know many things for the West Papuan but I am sure you know what you write. Thank you