the cost

So George Bush has accepted that the plan to invade Iraq was based on intelligence information that was false. He takes "full repsonsibility" for the action and for the task of reframing the intelligence community. Apparently this is supposed to make us feel better, if you listen to the television commentators anyway. He continued to defend the war and played up the Iraqi elections today and the fact that Hussein is no longer a "threat" to the world and to his own people. I am still not convinced, I don't think I ever will be. It was wrong as far as I am concerned. There is an interesting interview with George Clooney in the latest edition of Rolling Stone. Asked about the criticism he received for his opposition to the war he said, "It was fascinating to be called a traitor and told that your career is over because of your political views. But that's fine. I can handle that. You can't sit around defending freedom of speech and then say, "But don't say bad things about me." Just don't say that raising these questions is unpatriotic. There will be people who say we're saying in Syriana that bombers are good people, but clearly we're not. All we're saying is if you're going to fight a war against an idea-terrorism-as opposed to a state, then you're going to have to understand how such evil, horrible things happen."
    On a different note, here are some statistics from the UK Independent about the cost of the war-- enjoy.
$204.4 billion: The cost to the U.S of the war so far.
2,339: Allied troops killed
15,955: US troops wounded in action
98: U.K troops killed
30,000 : Estimated Iraqi civilian deaths
0: Number of WMDs found
66: Journalists killed in Iraq.
63: Journalists killed during Vietnam war
8: per cent of Iraqi children suffering acute malnutrition
53,470: Iraqi insurgents killed
67: per cent Iraqis who feel less secure because of occupation
$343: Average monthly salary for an Iraqi soldier. Average monthly salary for an American soldier in Iraq: $4,160.75
5: foreign civilians kidnapped per month
47: per cent Iraqis who never have enough electricity
20: casualties per month from unexploded mines
25-40: per cent Estimated unemployment rate, Nov 2005
251: Foreigners kidnapped
70: per cent of Iraqi's whose sewage system rarely works
183,000: British and American troops are still in action in Iraq.
13,000: from other nations
90: Daily attacks by insurgents in Nov '05. In Jun '03: 8
60-80: per cent Iraqis who are "strongly opposed" to presence of coalition troops

Comments

[scott]

You're a liberal who obviously can't stand to see Bush in office. the truth is that terror is on its heals and freedom has never come without a cost. Next time you want to criticize just look around you and realize that America isn't the only country in this world that deserves a chance at freedom.

[Dorothy]

Bush was not alone in his traitorous lies....the party in power was the driving force. People seem to forget that Bush does not appear to have the intelligence nor even the will to involve himself in the world scene. Nevertheless, he was the willing puppet in the hands of greedy oil and defense U.S. corporations. To find the real evil behind the manipulation of the laws of the U.S. and those responsible for the deaths of both innocent U.S.and allied soldiers and Iraqis alike, one only needs to look for those who profited from this war! Think about all those children who have been killed...those mothers, grandmothers, sons and daughters and then think about the billions that have poured into those people's murderous pockets.