Letters to the Editor
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I'd Have Been Fired Long Ago... Why Not Rummy?
Had I provided estimates to my management erring on orders of magnitude (5 weeks, 5 months vs. 3+ years) and cascading budget overruns, I would certainly have been let go long ago. Mr. Rumsfeld seems to enjoy an immunity that those of us of whom results are expected do not.
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Cushy job #1: Pentagon accountant
Let's not forget that this is the same Pentagon whose accountants just write off whatever mistakes they make as one line item: "My bad: -$1,000,000,000". In the Fortune 500 in the 21st century, that wouldn't just be reason for dismissal; that would be prison time.
Sadly, I think many of the hawks really did believe their own rhetoric. I think they really believed that we would march into Baghdad, flag waving and tanks gleaming, and Saddam would fall to his knees while the people cheered, drank Coca-Cola and bought Haliburton t-shirts.
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The cost of war
You might also look at the following link about costs -- medical and otherwise. http://www.healthpolitics.com/home.asp?op=truecost&bhcp=1
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Rumsfeld?
No more doubt that the multitudes refer to him as Dumbsfeld , Dummy, etc. are absolutely right, but probably be refered to by Prince Donny as liberal leftwingers.
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Cost of War
Real Conservatives would impose a War Tax to pay for this adventure. I mean, if it is a valid war then the country should sacrifice something now, instead of waiting until later when perpetrators will be pretty much gone, right?
What was that saying? History? Who knows. We'll all be dead then.
Not all of us will be dead when the piper demands his due. And a lot of our children will be alive then too.
What does "conservative" mean anymore?
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And let's not forget the National Guard
In addition to normal wear, tear, damage and destruction, many Guard units have had to leave their equipment behind in Iraq when returning stateside. Governors were asking a few months ago for the fedgov to help offset the burden to the states for replacement of the broken and left behind stuff.
Are these costs factored in, I wonder? I have a horrible, horrible feeling that we're getting lowballed on the numbers and that it is much worse than we are being allowed to know.
Oh, wait. Who are we talking about here? Of course it's much worse. It always is. Silly me.
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Don't ignore the sacrifice of our men and women
The mass media has tended to stop reporting on the daily casualties of U.S. soldiers, and that is a great disservice to our service men and women. According to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count the total U.S. military fatalities has reached 2380 and the count for the month of April stands at 52 dead. I think it is important to not allow our dead and wounded to become lost in the blur of “news.” Therefore, it would be good if salon.com were to periodically cover the continuing cost that our youth are paying for the warped “policymaking” of this administration.
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And another cost
Surely our newer, smaller, more flexible military units require more equipment because there are more units to equip. But that must be peanuts compared to the cost of turning our six temporary bases into permanent bases and building a brand new super-hardened embassy in Baghdad. Just how much is our building program for US facilities in Iraq costing?
Think we can leave Iraq in the near future? Those facilities suggest otherwise.
Think we are safer in the U.S. because we are "fighting our enemies in Iraq?" We've become occupiers and imperialists. They will bring their battle to us wherever they need to in order to get rid of our presence, because that's what occupied peoples do. This war is making us less safe, not more safe.