SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Invest In US Instead of Sacrificing in Iraq
Sep 04, 2007
This nation faces a clear choice this September. President Bush will insist that Congress continue the war in Iraq and demand another $50 billion for the occupation. That is on top of the $147 billion already pending for Iraq and Afghanistan this year, and that's on top of the $460 billion annual military budget. The United States will spend about as much as the rest of the world combined on its military this year.
At the same time, the president vows to veto any spending on domestic programs that exceed his budget. He has threatened to veto any increases for children's health care (even as more children go without health insurance); for college loans and scholarships; for public schools; for renewable energy; for basic infrastructure. The difference between the president's budget and that of Congress is about $20 billion. The president says that's a lot of money, over "$1,300 in higher spending every second of every minute of every hour." His request for Iraq this year is about eight times greater, or $10,400 every second of every hour. The total estimated cost of Iraq now exceeds $1 trillion -- and rising.
Democrats in Congress are virtually unanimous in wanting to get U.S. troops out of the civil war in Iraq. Republicans are waiting for the reports of Gen. David Petraeus, the intelligence agencies, the GAO and independent commissions -- all due this month. The reports, no doubt, will differ, with the administration claiming progress and others being more skeptical. Supporters of the war will see the glass half full; opponents, half empty.
But there really isn't much difference in fact. Occupation of a country is hard, costly and deadly. Petraeus has said from the beginning that, if all goes well, it will take 10 to 20 years to pacify Iraq, rebuild it and create a functioning democracy there. That would raise the cost of Iraq to more than $2 trillion, with more than 6,000 American lives likely to be lost. A lot more than $20 billion in this year's domestic budget will be sacrificed to bear those costs.
Already we see the domestic costs of this war and our continuing commitment to police the world. A bridge falls in Minneapolis. An aged steam valve breaks and terrorizes Manhattan. The levees are still not rebuilt to the needed strength in New Orleans. College is getting priced out of reach of working families. Our schools grow older, more crowded and more in need of repair. Our transportation system -- from airports to roads to subways -- cries out for investment. Our broadband system is the slowest in the industrial world. Our park facilities are in disrepair. America's domestic investment deficit is strangling opportunity.
In Iraq, the United States has a three-point plan. Stop the flow of guns and secure the streets. Consolidate a democracy. Invest in vital infrastructure and put Iraqis to work. The United States could use that three-point plan, too. It would be a lot more cost effective here since we're not yet in the midst of sectarian civil strife.
The choice this September isn't really about Iraq, it is about the United States. Like Rome and Britain and the USSR before us, we face a choice: empire or republic? We can police the streets of Baghdad, patrol the seas, guard the borders of Korea and Bosnia, build a new generation of more deadly nuclear and space weaponry, or we can invest here at home in areas vital to our social and economic health. We can be the globocop or the city on the hill -- but we can't be both.
(c) 2007 The Chicago Sun Times
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
© 2023 Chicago Sun-Times
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
This nation faces a clear choice this September. President Bush will insist that Congress continue the war in Iraq and demand another $50 billion for the occupation. That is on top of the $147 billion already pending for Iraq and Afghanistan this year, and that's on top of the $460 billion annual military budget. The United States will spend about as much as the rest of the world combined on its military this year.
At the same time, the president vows to veto any spending on domestic programs that exceed his budget. He has threatened to veto any increases for children's health care (even as more children go without health insurance); for college loans and scholarships; for public schools; for renewable energy; for basic infrastructure. The difference between the president's budget and that of Congress is about $20 billion. The president says that's a lot of money, over "$1,300 in higher spending every second of every minute of every hour." His request for Iraq this year is about eight times greater, or $10,400 every second of every hour. The total estimated cost of Iraq now exceeds $1 trillion -- and rising.
Democrats in Congress are virtually unanimous in wanting to get U.S. troops out of the civil war in Iraq. Republicans are waiting for the reports of Gen. David Petraeus, the intelligence agencies, the GAO and independent commissions -- all due this month. The reports, no doubt, will differ, with the administration claiming progress and others being more skeptical. Supporters of the war will see the glass half full; opponents, half empty.
But there really isn't much difference in fact. Occupation of a country is hard, costly and deadly. Petraeus has said from the beginning that, if all goes well, it will take 10 to 20 years to pacify Iraq, rebuild it and create a functioning democracy there. That would raise the cost of Iraq to more than $2 trillion, with more than 6,000 American lives likely to be lost. A lot more than $20 billion in this year's domestic budget will be sacrificed to bear those costs.
Already we see the domestic costs of this war and our continuing commitment to police the world. A bridge falls in Minneapolis. An aged steam valve breaks and terrorizes Manhattan. The levees are still not rebuilt to the needed strength in New Orleans. College is getting priced out of reach of working families. Our schools grow older, more crowded and more in need of repair. Our transportation system -- from airports to roads to subways -- cries out for investment. Our broadband system is the slowest in the industrial world. Our park facilities are in disrepair. America's domestic investment deficit is strangling opportunity.
In Iraq, the United States has a three-point plan. Stop the flow of guns and secure the streets. Consolidate a democracy. Invest in vital infrastructure and put Iraqis to work. The United States could use that three-point plan, too. It would be a lot more cost effective here since we're not yet in the midst of sectarian civil strife.
The choice this September isn't really about Iraq, it is about the United States. Like Rome and Britain and the USSR before us, we face a choice: empire or republic? We can police the streets of Baghdad, patrol the seas, guard the borders of Korea and Bosnia, build a new generation of more deadly nuclear and space weaponry, or we can invest here at home in areas vital to our social and economic health. We can be the globocop or the city on the hill -- but we can't be both.
(c) 2007 The Chicago Sun Times
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to form the Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
This nation faces a clear choice this September. President Bush will insist that Congress continue the war in Iraq and demand another $50 billion for the occupation. That is on top of the $147 billion already pending for Iraq and Afghanistan this year, and that's on top of the $460 billion annual military budget. The United States will spend about as much as the rest of the world combined on its military this year.
At the same time, the president vows to veto any spending on domestic programs that exceed his budget. He has threatened to veto any increases for children's health care (even as more children go without health insurance); for college loans and scholarships; for public schools; for renewable energy; for basic infrastructure. The difference between the president's budget and that of Congress is about $20 billion. The president says that's a lot of money, over "$1,300 in higher spending every second of every minute of every hour." His request for Iraq this year is about eight times greater, or $10,400 every second of every hour. The total estimated cost of Iraq now exceeds $1 trillion -- and rising.
Democrats in Congress are virtually unanimous in wanting to get U.S. troops out of the civil war in Iraq. Republicans are waiting for the reports of Gen. David Petraeus, the intelligence agencies, the GAO and independent commissions -- all due this month. The reports, no doubt, will differ, with the administration claiming progress and others being more skeptical. Supporters of the war will see the glass half full; opponents, half empty.
But there really isn't much difference in fact. Occupation of a country is hard, costly and deadly. Petraeus has said from the beginning that, if all goes well, it will take 10 to 20 years to pacify Iraq, rebuild it and create a functioning democracy there. That would raise the cost of Iraq to more than $2 trillion, with more than 6,000 American lives likely to be lost. A lot more than $20 billion in this year's domestic budget will be sacrificed to bear those costs.
Already we see the domestic costs of this war and our continuing commitment to police the world. A bridge falls in Minneapolis. An aged steam valve breaks and terrorizes Manhattan. The levees are still not rebuilt to the needed strength in New Orleans. College is getting priced out of reach of working families. Our schools grow older, more crowded and more in need of repair. Our transportation system -- from airports to roads to subways -- cries out for investment. Our broadband system is the slowest in the industrial world. Our park facilities are in disrepair. America's domestic investment deficit is strangling opportunity.
In Iraq, the United States has a three-point plan. Stop the flow of guns and secure the streets. Consolidate a democracy. Invest in vital infrastructure and put Iraqis to work. The United States could use that three-point plan, too. It would be a lot more cost effective here since we're not yet in the midst of sectarian civil strife.
The choice this September isn't really about Iraq, it is about the United States. Like Rome and Britain and the USSR before us, we face a choice: empire or republic? We can police the streets of Baghdad, patrol the seas, guard the borders of Korea and Bosnia, build a new generation of more deadly nuclear and space weaponry, or we can invest here at home in areas vital to our social and economic health. We can be the globocop or the city on the hill -- but we can't be both.
(c) 2007 The Chicago Sun Times
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.