True Cost of War

Unfortunately President Bush needed a resounding defeat in November's election to "suddenly" be interested in changing strategies in Iraq - the American public asked for a change in direction - more importantly an exit strategy. As he looks for a new direction, one being proposed is sending in 20,000-30,000 more troops. Doesn't sound like an exit strategy to me. This proposition could be difficult to execute as a vast majority of Americans are against sending in more troops. Furthermore, Generals Abizaid and Casey and former Secretary of State Colin Powell have suggested against an increase in troops as it could exasperate the situation and break the Army with extended deployments. A mere suggestion of increased troops gives insight to how the media has failed miserably to reveal the True Costs of the war to the American public. According to the National Priorities Project (nationalpriorities.org), the monetary costs of the war are at $350 billion (that's $350,000,000,000 or the number 35 with 10 zeros after it - just imagine what we could do with that much money). As the project points out, the amount of money spent on this war may be acceptable if the security of the nation was improved or the troops had the proper equipment. But this is hardly the case, as many believe the security (and reputation) of the country has suffered because of the debacle and the troops still don't have proper body armor for themselves or their vehicles after 3 years since the start of the war.

The media has done a fairly good job of reporting the American death toll, currently at 2,959, but has somehow forgotten the entire casualty rate - including those maimed and injured or who are handicapped for the rest of their lives. And let's not forget the Iraqi casualty rate or the flock of refugees to the surrounding countries due to the lack of security. A study released by the John Hopkins school of public health has estimated the Iraqi death toll at 600,000. This may seem unfathomable, but is it? It most certainly is higher than President Bush's number of 30,000. Last month, the UN estimated 100,000 refugees were fleeing the country each month, with a total of 1.8 million living in the surrounding Arab nations.

As the President hints at increased troop levels and the Pentagon asks for another $100 billion in supplemental funds for the war, the American public shouldn't except it until it understands the True Costs of the War. The media needs to do a better job of making this happen.