The Iraq War's True Cost

When the Bush administration decided that it was necessary to go to war with Iraq, they presumed that several things would happen: a) victory would be swift (in the initial conflict it was but the insurgency has dragged on for over six years) b) we would be treated as liberators and as such would gain the help of Iraqi citizens c) oil revenues would pay for the cost of rebuilding the country. Unfortunately, none of these presumptions materialized and the results are staggering.

The true cost of the Iraq War cannot be measured in dollars and cents but in lives lost, families forever changed, a slumping economy, a tarnished American image and a weakened military.

The failed outcomes of this war have caused a domino effect which is being felt in all areas of American society..

The Economy

There should be no doubt in anyone's mind that the Iraq War has had an enormous effect on America's economy which in turn has created ripple effects throughtout the global economy. The increase in defense spending since the war started has literally sucked the life out of America's ability to support itself.

Each year America borrows billions of dollars from countries around the world like China in order to sustain it's economy and keep it from collapsing totally.

The infrastructure of America is in dire need of repair but with more than 10 million dollars each month going to Iraq it is very difficult to allocate funds to this part of the federal budget.

The collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minnesota in August of 2007 demonstrated how dangerously frail our roads have become yet there is little room in the government's pocketbook to address the issue.

The Iraq War caused destabilization of the Middle East region (America's major petroleum supplier) and the fear of disruption of oil supplies drove the price of crude oil up, eventually exceeding $100 a barrel in 2008.

With Americans paying more for energy less money was being circulated in other areas of the economy. As a result the housing industry began to slow down as well as the auto industry. The increased cost to transport goods was passed on to the consumer which affected retail spending (restaurants, hotels, clothing etc.) as well.

Decreasing business forced many employers to cut costs which meant laying off employees. This further reduced spending and the economy started showing signs of total collapse.

All of these problems have links to the Iraq War.

Lives Lost

At last count over 4,300 American soldiers have lost their lives in the Iraq War and the death toll for Iraq's citizens is in the tens of thousands. Loss of life in any war is tragic but the recent comments by former Vice President Dick Cheney that he does not think Iraq had any connection to 9/11 makes the losses more tragic.

Though the number of American casualties pales in comparison to other wars that America has been involved in, the loss is significant for a conflict that was predicted to have a minimal number of deaths.

Iraqi civilians have suffered the most in this conflict. Death tolls have ranged from a conservative estimate of 100,000 to well over 600,000. No matter what the true number is, the devastating effect of this war on the Iraqi population is glowingly apparent.

The Iraqi people have been traumatized by the ongoing battle and their lives have been changed forever.

America's Image

in February of 2003 when members of the Bush adminstration petitioned the United Nations to invade Iraq, America was enjoying a wave of support from around the world that it hadn't seen since World War ii. When the U.N. denied their request, the Bush cabinet based on intelligence available at the time, started making plans to invade the country.

On March 20, 2003 a hastily assembled "coalition of allies" which included Great Britain invaded Iraq and the rest is history.

The invasion of Iraq and the removal of Saddam Hussein from power was denounced by many of America's allies. French President Jacques Chiroc was particularly critical of George Bush. Nonetheless, "Operation Shock and Awe" went on as planned.

In the months and years that followed, the opposition to America's military action against Iraq increased with some calling it illegal and even criminal. America's image suffered and it's support around the globe diminished.

America was a country with a large stain on it's name.

A Weakened Military

Even before America engaged in the Iraq War it's military was stretched dangerously thin. Since the war started it has been stretched to the breaking point.

Following then Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld's military philosophy of a streamlined fighting force, American troop levels were already low. The Iraq War depleted them even more putting America in the perilous position of not being able to defend itself if another major conflict broke out.

An additional consequence of the Iraq War is the inability to send enough troops to effectively fight the war in Afghanistan where the leader of those who actually attacked America on 9/11 (Osama Bin Laden) is reportedly hiding out.

Make no mistake, we honor and appreciate the service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform. Their courage in battle is the stuff that legends are made of but to put them in harms way without sufficient manpower to engage the enemy is a crime of the highest magnitude.

Throughout it's history, one of America's greatest assets has been it's military strength. That strength has been weakened dramatically by a war that America shouldn't be fighting in the first place.