Again, $650B is a really bad estimate of the cost of Iraq.
Then maybe you need to ask Obama to set you up as the head of the Congressional Research Service. They're the ones who did the research and came up with the figure.
Then add to that all the veterans benefits for seriously traumatized returning soldiers, the lost wages and economic benefit from these wounded, dead, and PTSD soldiers and I guarantee you the cost of this war is well over $1 trillion.
Do you know how many accidents put servicemen on medical disability (or death benefits) every year? There were over 2,300 deaths in 1980 from NON-COMBAT related causes:
In 1980, there were 117 noncombat deaths per 100,000 service members -- about 2,390 deaths out of 2.05 million service members. In 1996, there were 68 noncombat deaths per 100,000 servicemembers -- 1,020 noncombat deaths out of 1.5 million servicemembers. Of those, 228 service members died in privately owned vehicle accidents and 190 service members committed suicide.
defenselink.mil
The military is a dangerous occupation. There have been, on average, more deaths from NON-COMBAT related accidents than from actual combat in Iraq/Afghanistan combined. Injuries are often as likely to occur in training as they are in combat (Train like you fight).
Hawk |
