The War: an update

Submitted by:
danielbier8

Type of Content:

Article

For the record, Rep. Ron Paul had this to say about the looming war against Iraq on September 4, 2002:

I ask unanimous consent to address the House for one minute.
Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge the Congress to think twice before thrusting this nation into a war without merit- one fraught with the danger of escalating into something no American will be pleased with.
Thomas Jefferson advised: 'Never was so much false arithmetic employed on any subject as that which has been employed to persuade nations that it is in their interests to go to war.'
We have for months now heard plenty of false arithmetic and lame excuses for why we must pursue a preemptive war of aggression against an impoverished third world nation 6000 miles from our shores that doesn’t even possess a navy or air force, on the pretense that it must be done for national security reasons.
For some reason such an attack makes me feel much less secure, while our country is made more vulnerable.
Congress must consider the fact that those with military experience advocate a "go slow" policy, while those without military experience are the ones demanding this war.
We cannot ignore the fact that all of Iraq’s Arab neighbors oppose this attack, and our European allies object as well.
If the military and diplomatic reasons for a policy of restraint make no sense to those who want a war, I advise they consider the [2002 projected] $100 billion cost.

The cost of War to date:

-totals $501 billion, at cost of $22,889,530,000 for the state of New Jersey, $1.2 billion for Burlington County, and $4,100 dollars for every household. The cost rises $275 million a day, and the final cost of the war is projected to be over $1 trillion.

-3,975 Americans killed (including 102 women ), 29,320 Americans injured, 308 other coalition members killed, 145 Americans committed suicide in the field, over 150 journalists dead, over 1,000 contractors killed and 13,000 more wounded

-89,110 confirmed Iraqi civilian deaths, 7,987 Iraqi security forces killed, 30,000 Iraqi troops killed, more than 151,000 total Iraqis died violently between 2003 and 2006, nearly 500,000 Iraqis have died as a result of other problems related to the war (food shortages, unsanitary conditions, crime increases, disease, poor medical care), 4.9 million (1 in 5) Iraqis are now refugees

“War supporters cannot see that for every Iraqi killed [or injured or jobless or homeless or robbed], another family turns on us-- regardless of who did the killing,” Ron Paul advises. What are we giving to Iraq? What would the Iraqis say? What would the hundreds of thousands of dead say, if they could? What would their friends and families say? What would the millions of homeless refugees fleeing Iraq say? What would the millions of citizens without adequate food, water, electricity, or medical care say? We tell them that we are giving them "democracy" and "freedom," but what would they have to say about our “democracy” if it brings death, destruction, crime, chaos, homelessness, unemployment, and fear to their nation?

If we truly came to spread freedom, the rights of man, then we should not be coming with guns and airplanes. War inevitably leads to loss of life, of liberty, and of property. People who start wars do not respect the rights of their own people or of the people they attack. This war is not about freedom, it’s about our own selfish, petty desires to remake the Middle East in our image. We can pursue our senseless wars so easily because those lives were bought so cheaply.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Data/info sources:

[1] http://www.house.gov/paul/congrec/congrec2002/cr090402.htm

[2] http://www.nationalpriorities.org/costofwar_home

[3] http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11880954/

[4] http://icasualties.org/oif/female.aspx

[5] http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/

[6] http://icasualties.org/oif/

[7] http://icasualties.org/oif/journalist.aspx

[8] http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN0318650320070703?sp=tru...

[9] http://www.iraqbodycount.org/

[10] http://icasualties.org/oif/default.aspx

[11] http://www.defenselink.mil/transcripts/transcript.aspx?transcriptid=2511