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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: longnshort who wrote (760493)	3/21/2007 6:35:52 PM
From: pompsander	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Another compassionate conservative rips his former friends and party members a new one. Message 23389321 ______________________

To: longnshort who wrote (760493)	3/22/2007 5:40:05 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Re: "what is the point?" Shorty... it appears like you either skipped over the bolded sections... (or else don't understand plain and simple ENGLISH). 'Cause that article was POSITIVELY CHOCK-FULL of 'points': 1) ... It is worthwhile to note that the war has already overtaken the World War II (WWII) as the longest conflict overseas, the United States has ever been involved in, barring the Vietnam War. Meanwhile, the cost of the present Iraq war has already surpassed the total amount spent during the Korean War and is quickly catching up with the expenses incurred in the Vietnam War. In monetary terms, this war is the third most expensive in U.S. history, and eventually, its total economic impact is expected to match that of WWII, the costliest one till date.... 2) ... To date, over 3,200 U.S. troops have been killed and more than 24,000 wounded since the war began 4 years ago. Among the wounded, over 10,000 are unable to return to duty an done in five suffers permanent disability.... 3) ... For the U.S. military, even the top brass have acknowledged that the war is hurting the military's combat readiness and morale. In a report dated August 2006, two thirds of the Army and the Marine Corp units said that they were ill-prepared to take on any other missions as the ongoing Iraq war was consuming much of their equipment and energy.... 4) ... Economic impact The war has so far cost U.S. taxpayers 351 billion U.S. dollars and President George W. Bush has requested another 181 billion dollars for war efforts through 2007 and 2008. The total cost is estimated at 532 billion dollars by late 2008,exceeding that of the Vietnam War (accounting inflation) and becoming the second most expensive U.S. involvement after WWII. But this is only the tip of the iceberg as far as the war's ultimate impact on the U.S. economy is concerned. Aside from the direct war costs, replacing war equipment will cost taxpayers at least another 60 billion dollars over the next five years. And even after the last U.S. soldier finally leaves Iraq, the war's costs will continue mounting. A recent study by Linda Bilmes of Harvard University put the total cost of providing medical care and disability benefits to veterans of the Iraq war at 350 billion to 700 billion dollars. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, an economist at the Columbia University, estimated that the real price of the Iraq war, including war spending, future costs and the related economic impact, is well over 2 trillion dollars.... 5) ... Even in Britain, the closest ally of the United States, 81 percent of the respondents opposed the war. Richard Eichenberg, an expert of presidential poll ratings, said the impact of the war on the U.S.'s image has been "devastating" and the country's standing in the world is "by all measures at its lowest point in history." Joseph Nye, a leading professor of International Relations at Harvard University, told Xinhua that the Bush administration's heavy reliance on "hard power," especially in Iraq, is hurting the country's "soft power." 6) Domestically, the Bush administration and the Republican party is paying a massive price for the war.... 7) ... the Foreign Policy magazine said that eventually, a number of winners might emerge out of the Iraq war, but the United States is obviously not going to be among them....