The Real Cost of Iraq

There is finally a video production that does justice to the shabby story of the Iraq attack: Bush’s War, put on educational TV (PBS) by Frontline. After watching just a few minutes, in which, during the first part of the program, Cheney’s imperial Wannabe President role and decades-long-buddy Rumsfeld’s imperial disdain for seasoned officers combine to completely cripple rational discussion in DC, and rational actions overseas.

It’s hard to imagine seeing the truth laid bare, as Frontline does, on any commercial channel: the White House would have already stepped in to stop the showing, just as it has done with other media pieces it didn’t like (Bill Maher getting thrown off the air comes to mind).

I recommend the Frontline piece to anyone; the second, and final part, plays this evening.

If you want to understand how the Neocons can ignore truth all around them, while manufacturing lies for public consumption to suit Israel’s and their own needs, watch Bush’s War. The summary: yes, it is every bit as bad as you thought it was. All of these folk (Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Feith, Perle, and others) should be in jail for their gross misdeeds.

They are criminals.

I’d also like to suggest that, in addition to the real money being spent, now estimated at $2T and counting, everyone should raise their heads above the troops in/out argument, and ask:

What the Hell did we get for our money? Name just one (positive) thing, please.

And (follow on), how could we invade the second largest oil reserve-holding country in the world, and manage to drive US oil prices up from $40 to $107?

Even more important: let’s cease with this “4,000” dead BS. Yes, there are that many US soldiers dead. But how many others have we killed, spending this $2T and getting nothing?

How many:

1. Civilians? Maybe 600,000 plus
2. US Contractors? Unknown, uncounted, unreported
3. Iraqi insurgents (ie, citizens against foreign occupation)? ditto
4. Iraqi military? ditto

I am guessing the US is responsible for perhaps a million dead, total.

So: no more of this 4k bullshit. For no reason, with nothing gained, with no goals stated that remain standing, and with no end in sight, the Gang that couldn’t shoot straight will go down in history not as the bloodiest murderers, but as the most inept and clueless.