Editorial

War will cost us for years

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

When Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld saw their long-held dream come true and they invaded Iraq, they estimated the total cost of the war would be about $60 billion.

It should come as no surprise to those who have watched the veracity of the Bush administration that they were wrong.

In fact, the war, now in its fifth year, has been averaging about $200 billion a year, most of it in "emergency" appropriations that aren't part of the regular federal budget.

But some recent studies have shown that the cost is much higher. A series of independent studies show that the actual cost is anywhere from $1.8 to $3 trillion dollars.

So far, we've lost over 4,000 troops in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the number of wounded is five times that rate, and of the 1.6 million troops who have served, it is estimated from various sources that 50 to 80 percent have suffered from some form of Post Traumatic Stress. Because battlefield medicine is so good these days, those who suffer wounds and get to a hospital tend not to die. But that means that the number of vets suffering catastrophic injuries, brain damage or the loss of a limb, is much higher, in terms of percentages of wounded, than it ever has been in the past.

And when you add in the cost of the medical care those veterans are receiving now, and will receive in the future, the costs are quickly skyrocketing. In many cases, analysts have had to estimate those costs, since the VA has become so overworked dealing with the wounded vets that many have opted for private physicians. And once those soldiers are discharged, despite federal medical benefits -- which don't cover everything -- their personal out-of-pocket costs for physicians, drugs and hospice care have to be added in.

So besides the cost in blood the wars have caused us, the cost in national treasure has been enormous, and taxpayers will be paying for it well into the next generation.

If these wars last much longer, it will bankrupt this country.

-- Kelly Everitt