Clipmarks | BobbyDelray's 'war' clips

Estimates on Iraq-War Costs

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 02:46:01 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

How much has the war in Iraq cost the U.S.?

The most-basic estimate covers only spending to date, and is limited to budgetary items of military and diplomatic operations in Iraq. The Congressional Budget Office put those costs at about $400 billion in testimony last month before a House panel.

But start projecting forward 10 years

and you get a wide range of figures, all the way up to $3.5 trillion.

The latest estimate came this week from Congressional Democrats. The Joint Economic Committee’s majority staff released a report estimating the costs incurred so far in Iraq and Afghanistan at $1.6 trillion, and pegs costs through 2017 at $3.5 trillion. The report received widespread press coverage, including on CNN and in the Washington Post.

Republicans responded by criticizing the report for “errors and poor methodology,” but didn’t offer their own estimate.

The CBO

estimated total budget costs through 2017

between $1.2 trillion and $1.7 trillion

interest costs between $600 and $700 billion

Tags: iraq, war, costs, budget

Woman confronts Condi Rice with 'blood' on her hands

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 17:30:08 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: The big version of this photo shows the look on Condi's face much better.

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

Protester Desiree Farooz confronts Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a photograph taken today by Charles Dharapak of the Associated Press.

Rice was preparing to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee when she encountered Farooz inside the hearing room. Farooz had painted her hands red, apparently to symbolize her group's claim that members of President Bush's cabinet have blood on their hands because of the way they've waged war in Iraq.

USA TODAY has a wire story about the secretary's subsequent testimony about the Mideast peace process.

Tags: condi rice, blood, desiree farooz, secretary of state condoleezza rice, charles dharapak, house foreign affairs committee, war

Americans getting 'heads blown off for the president's amusement'

Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:05:10 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Calif., has added another item to our catalogue of the sort of discourse that now defines so much of American politics.

Stark took to the House floor yesterday to speak in favor of overriding President Bush's veto of legislation that would have expanded a children's health insurance program. He somehow veered into Iraq, saying that young Americans are getting their "heads blown off for the president's amusement."

"The truth is, Bush just likes to blow things up in Iraq, in the United States and in Congress," Stark says.

What do you think about what he said and how he said it?

Tags: president, bush, pete stark, children's health insurance program, iraq, war

Iraq Death Toll Rivals Rwanda Genocide, Cambodian Killing Fields

Mon, 17 Sep 2007 14:21:09 GMT

clipped by: Rasmus

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

According to a new study, 1.2 million Iraqis have met violent deaths since the 2003 invasion, the highest estimate of war-related fatalities yet. The study was done by the British polling firm ORB, which conducted face-to-face interviews with a sample of over 1,700 Iraqi adults in 15 of Iraq's 18 provinces. Two provinces -- al-Anbar and Karbala -- were too dangerous to canvas, and officials in a third, Irbil, didn't give the researchers a permit to do their work. The study's margin of error was plus-minus 2.4 percent.

The poll's findings are in line with the rolling estimate maintained on the Just Foreign Policy website, based on the Johns Hopkins' data, that stands at just over 1 million Iraqis killed as of this writing.

These numbers suggest that the invasion and occupation of Iraq rivals the great crimes of the last century

800,000 to 900,000 believed killed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994

(1.7 million) who died in Cambodia's infamous "Killing Fields" during the Khmer Rouge era

Tags: iraq, usa, war, war on iraq

95% of Troops in Iraq Americans

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:12:26 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

CNN's top story summarizes an essay about Burma by Laura Bush. MSNBC uses its front page to report on the "crumbling coalition" in Iraq, pointing readers to a report that says American forces will soon account for 95% of the troops on the front lines. Fox News sends a message to Fred Thompson, the former senator who participated in his first GOP presidential debate: "Welcome To the Show."

Tags: iraq, war, bush, troops

World War III?

Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:41:03 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: This is how things get started. What would we do in this circumstance?

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

Turkey is preparing for what the Associated Press describes as a "possible cross-border operation into Iraq."

The defense minister tells Reuters that the parliament must OK any large-scale invasion, but the premier's office can authorize limited incursions known as "hot pursuit" operations inside Iraq.

Turkey claims that Kurdish militants have attacked Turkish territory from bases in northern Iraq.

Tags: war, iraq, turkey

Top House Dems push war 'surtax' of up to 15%

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:54:41 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

"If the president really is concerned about stopping red ink, we are prepared to introduce legislation which will provide for a war surtax for that portion of military costs that are related to our military actions in Iraq," Rep. David Obey, the Wisconsin Democrat who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, says, according to Reuters.

The Politico reports members of the Democratic leadership say they'll oppose any spending bills that don't include a plan to end the 4-year-old conflict. Under the surtax proposal, taxpayers would pay extra taxes -- ranging from 2% to 15% based on income -- designed to raise $140 billion a year for the war effort.

"If you don't like the cost, then shut down the war," Obey just told reporters on Capitol Hill. He was joined by Reps. John Murtha of Pennsylvania and James McGovern of Massachusetts.

Tags: democrats, house, war, tax, surtax, spending, funding

Brzezinski: U.S. in danger of 'stampeding' to war with Iran

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:33:22 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski likened U.S. officials' saber rattling about Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions to similar bellicose statements made before the start of the Iraq war.

"I think the administration, the president and the vice president particularly, are trying to hype the atmosphere, and that is reminiscent of what preceded the war in Iraq," Brzezinski told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" on Sunday.

In October 2002, five months before Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was toppled for what the United States said was his pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, President Bush said, "Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof -- the smoking gun -- that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud."

Earlier this month during a televised speech about Iraq, the president said, "Iran would benefit from the chaos and would be encouraged in its efforts to gain nuclear weapons and dominate the region."

Tags: zbigniew brzezinski, iran, war, nuclear

Clinton: I won't fund Iraq war without withdrawal plan

Mon, 24 Sep 2007 04:30:23 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton said Sunday she won't vote for any more money to support the four-year-old war in Iraq without a plan to start bringing U.S. troops home.

"I've reached the conclusion that the best way to support our troops is begin bringing them home," the New York senator and former first lady told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer."

"I don't believe we should continue to vote for funding that has an open-ended commitment, that has no pressure on the Iraqi government to make the tough political decisions they have to make, or which really gives any urgency to the Bush administration's diplomatic efforts."

Tags: clinton, hillary, war, iraq, funding

Poll finds solid support for Iraq withdrawal, more political pressure

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:29:42 GMT

clipped by: BobbyDelray
clipper's remarks: Should be get out immediately or schedule a withdrawal?

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

The latest USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that 59% of Americans support setting a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and sticking to it regardless of conditions over there.

But Gen. David Petraeus' appearances before Congress last week did not change fundamental attitudes toward the war, writes USA TODAY's Susan Page.

found essentially no shift in views on whether U.S. forces are likely to win the war — two-thirds predict they won't — and if the United States should set a firm timetable to remove troops.

Here are the complete results.

Tags: iraq, war, poll, withdrawal