War, What Is It Good For?

Well, War Industry Profits. Mostly



If the United States cut their war industry budget by even 10 percent, hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost, some towns would shut up for good, congressmen and congresswomen would lose their jobs.

War is American Industry. Now more than ever.

Iraq : The $500 Billion War...For Now

$10,000 Spent Every 2 Seconds

$12 Trillion Worth Of Oil Estimated Under Iraq's Sands

The Iraq War is on track to become the most expensive US conflict since the end of World War 2, as the direct spending by the US Defence Department storms towards $500 billion. And yet the oil under the sands of Iraq is now predicted to be worth up to $12 trillion.

The Korean and Vietnam wars have been estimated to have cost some $600 billion in today's money, while World War 2 may have cost as much as, take a deep breath, $5 trillion.

As President Bush and the Democrat-controlled Congress go down to the mat over the signing of a new defence funding bill, worth more than $130 billion, the costs of the Iraq War look set to steam past $550 billion by September.

But the long term costs of the war are expected to double even that extraordinary figure.

The long-term care and rehabilitation of US veterans of the war, the costs of rebuilding and repairing the American military equipment and gear stockpiles, are estimated to eventually push the overall costs of the war, even if troop withdrawals began at the end of the year, to well over $1.3 trillion.

And yet, despite the horrific violence, the vast loss of American and Iraqi life and treasure, and the shattering of America's international reputation, Iraq is still the grandest oil prize in the world.

To control Iraq's oil for decades to come, even by way of a US-friendly Iran-aligned government, means the US can contain the growth of future superpowers like India and China, who remain 'addicted' to oil-produced energy to fuel their economies, and are likely to remain so well in the 2020s.

Iraqi oil can cost as little as $2 per barrel to extract, with minimal refining costs. If security improves, some estimates claim Iraq could be producing 4 million barrels of oil per day within five years. With a predicted 200 billion barrels of oil in reserves, in today's market this means Iraq's oil wealth alone could be worth as much as $12 trillion.

Once the insurgency and foreign terrorists are contained, and Iraqi oil flows at near maximum output capacity, Iraq is going to be one very rich Middle East country, for decades to come.

The United States, not surprisingly, wants its corporations and industries to be in the best possible position to help Iraq spend that new wealth, on rebuilding, restructuring and recreating the country, and its people, into the very model of what President Bush, and various NeoCons, dream that a 21st century Middle East financial behemoth should look, sound and smell like.

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A story from McClatchy Newspapers claims that the $500 billion costs of the Iraq War so far are some ten times what the Bush administration originally anticipated, and claimed, the entire venture would cost :

Congressional Democrats and Bush agree that they cannot let their dispute over a withdrawal timetable block the latest cash installment for Iraq. Once that political fight is resolved, Congress can focus on the president's request for $116 billion more for the war in the fiscal year that starts on Sept. 1.

The combined spending requests would push the total for Iraq to $564 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service.

Before the war, administration officials confidently predicted that the conflict would cost about $50 billion. White House economic adviser Lawrence Lindsey lost his job after he offered a $200 billion estimate - a prediction that drew scorn from his administration colleagues.

"They had no concept of what they were getting into in terms of lives or cost," said Winslow Wheeler, who monitors defense spending for the Center for Defense Information, a nonpartisan research institute.

Bush and his economic advisers defend the growing cost as the price of national security.

"It's worth it," Bush said last May, when the tab was in the $320 billion range. "I wouldn't have spent it if it wasn't worth it."

With oil wealth alone worth up to $12 trillion, perhaps Bush is not wrong in saying "It's worth it". But it will only be financially "worth it" for the US if it manages to remain a powerful force of change and influence in Iraq in the next two decades

So what could $500 billion have paid for if it had been spent on American health and education?

A college education - tuition, fees, room and board at a public university - for about half of the nation's 17 million high-school-age teenagers.

Pre-school for every 3- and 4-year-old in the country for the next eight years.

A year's stay in an assisted-living facility for about half of the 35 million Americans age 65 or older.

You can see for yourself just how rapidly the US is spending money on the Iraq War at Cost Of War. When I checked the site earlier today, the spending was clocking over at a rate of $10,000 every two seconds.


Will The NeoCon Dream For Iraq Come True?

More Than 100 US Troops Killed During April - More Than 2200 Iraqis Killed During March

Terror Attacks Skyrocket - 6600 Deadly Acts Of Terror In Iraq Through 2006, More Than 36,000 Killed, Number Of Terror Attacks Rise More Than 90% On 2006

Sunni Ministers Threaten To Quit Cabinet - Claim Shia Ministers Refuse To Act On Sunni Concerns - Shia Seen As Attempting To Wait Out Sunnis

Baghdad's Green Zone Rocked By Mortar Rocket Attacks - Near Daily Insurgent Assaults

300,000 Iraqis Flee Horrors Of Their War-Torn Country In Six Months; US Admits Only 88

Claim : Iraq's Oil Can Be Extracted At Cost Of Only $2 Per Barrel - Predicted Production Could Increase To 4 Million Barrels Per Day Within Five Years - Estimated Reserves Of 200 Billion Barrels

US Rebuilding In Iraq Misses Many Key Goals, Billions Of Dollars Wasted

You Must Leave Iraq, Sadr Tells "One Eyed AntiChrist" Bush

Kurds Look Set To Block Iraq Oil Law, As They Cut Their Own Deals For Drilling And Development Internationally

Report Claims $3 Billion Of Iraq Oil Revenue Goes Missing Annually

US SENATE OKAYS AMERICA'S LARGEST EVER DEFENCE BUDGET

$US448 BILLION, $US70 BILLION MORE FOR WARS IN IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN

Here's how the core of the new US Defence Budget breaks down :

$70 billion for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, including personnel and maintenance costs, $23 billion to replace worn equipment, $1.9 billion for new jammers to counter improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan, and $3.2 billion to train and equip Iraqi and Afghan security forces.

$86 billion in personnel costs to support 482,400 Army soldiers and 175,000 Marines, and to provide a 2.2% across-the-board pay raise for military personnel

$81 billion for new weapons, including 20 F-22A aircraft, 22 C-17 transport aircraft, 9 C-130J aircraft, two F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, two ultramodern Navy DD(X) destroyers, two high-speed Littoral Combat Ships and one Virginia class attack submarine.

$76 billion for research and development.

$120 billion for maintenance and operations.

$9.3 billion for missile defense programs.

$3.5 billion for the Army's Future Combat System, which would produce more than a dozen manned and unmanned vehicles and aircraft.

It's an astoundingly good time to be an American defence contractor. They haven't had it this good since the glory days of the Cold War, when billion dollar development deals for new surveillance aircraft were passed without plans or even the facilities to build such planes in place.

The next Defence Budget is expected to be even higher than this one. And the fact that the Democrats may control the Senate is unlikely to change the steady increase in defence spending by the US. Both Democrat and Republican senators are lobbied furiously by US defence contractors. That is not going to change any time soon.

From USA Today :

The Senate unanimously approved $70 billion more for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan Friday as part of a record Pentagon budget.

The bill, now on its way to the White House for President Bush's signature, totals $448 billion. It was passed by a 100-0 vote after minimal debate.

Approval by a comfortable margin came despite intense partisan divisions over the course of the Iraq war, which is costing about $8 billion a month. Another infusion of money will be needed next spring.

At the White House, President Bush said he would sign the bill and thanked Congress "for passing legislation that will provide our men and women in uniform with the necessary resources to protect our country and win the war on terror."

"As our troops risk their lives to fight terrorism," he said, "this bill will ensure they are prepared to defeat today's enemies and address tomorrows threats. I look forward to signing this bill into law."

The House-Senate compromise bill provides $378 billion for core Pentagon programs, about a 5% increase, though slightly less than President Bush asked for. The $70 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan is a down payment on war costs the White House has estimated will hit $110 billion for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

Congress has now approved $507 billion for Iraq, Afghanistan and heightened security at overseas military bases since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, according to the Congressional Research Service. The war in Iraq has cost $379 billion and the conflict in Afghanistan now totals $97 billion.

The Iraq war continues to be unpopular with voters, according to opinion polls, but even Democratic opponents of the war voted for the Pentagon measure, which provides funding for body armor and other support for U.S. troops overseas.

"America is in deep trouble in Iraq," said Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. "The continuing violence and death is ominous.... Militias are growing in strength and continue to operate outside the law. Death squads are rampant."

The growing price tag of the Iraq conflict is partly driven by the need to repair and replace military equipment worn out in harsh, dusty conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan or destroyed in battle. Almost $23 billion was approved for Army, Marine Corps and National Guard equipment such as helicopters, armored Humvees, Bradley armored fighting vehicles, radios and night-vision equipment.

Lawmakers allotted $1.9 billion for new jammers to counter improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan and $1 billion is provided for body armor and other personal protective gear.

There is also a stack of pet projects for lawmakers' homes states and districts, including $372 million obtained for Hawaii, home of Daniel Inouye, top Democrat on the defense appropriations panel.

"There are 2,000 earmarks in the bill directed by Members of Congress — somewhere around $8 billion — and a large portion of those don't have anything to do with the mission of the Defense Department," said Tom Coburn, R-Okla.

The legislation would be the first of 11 spending bills to clear Congress for the new budget year. The homeland security bill is the only other ready to pass before Congress leaves Washington this weekend. Nine bills funding domestic programs and foreign aid will wait until a lame duck session. That means delays in funding increases for veterans health care.

So little progress has been made on other bills that the Pentagon measure also carries a stopgap funding bill to keep open through Nov. 17 agencies whose funding bills won't have passed. Only the homeland security measure is expected to also pass before Congress leaves Washington to campaign.

The core bill contains $86 billion for personnel costs, enough to support 482,000 Army soldiers and 175,000 Marines. That would provide for a 2.2% pay increase for the military, as Bush requested in his February budget.

The bill provides $120 billion for operations and maintenance costs, just less than the Pentagon request. And $81 billion goes for procurement of new weapons, with $76 billion dedicated to research and development costs.

That's still not enough for the White House, which requested $4 billion more. But House appropriators diverted that money to ease cuts in domestic programs. Earlier this year, the Senate passed a version shifting $9 billion to domestic programs but backed off in the face of a White House veto threat.