NYT: Paying the Bills for Iraq

[dw]

Editorial in Wednesday's The New York Times:

With American military casualties rising and Iraqis restive over shortages of electricity, water and most other things, Congress is inclined to give President Bush the full $87 billion he wants for Iraq and Afghanistan next year. But sticker shock is just starting to set in — not to mention an awareness of potential costs the president neglected to bring up. Members of Congress are right to ask hard questions about how these huge bills will be paid, whether yielding some authority over Iraq may induce other countries to share the burdens and just how much a prolonged occupation will damage the military.

Mr. Bush's request for the next year would bring American spending on Iraq to some $150 billion. The most costly element is military operations — roughly $1 billion a week. Long-term military costs are unknowable because they depend on how many troops will be needed, and for how long. The strain is already plain. The Army announced yesterday that it was extending the Iraq duty of thousands of reserve and National Guard troops, keeping their jobs and families in limbo.

... snip ...

For now, Washington will have to pay most of the bills, and those sums cannot simply be added on to a deficit already nearing a half-trillion dollars. The $87 billion Mr. Bush seeks is equal to a fifth of next year's civilian discretionary spending at home — more than the combined total for education, job training, and employment and social services.

But as big as these issues are, Congress already needs to think beyond them. Before the war, the administration failed to define achievable American goals for Iraq or an eventual exit strategy. Those questions can no longer be deferred.

[Old and In the Way]

1. If this country is bankrupted in the next few years....

does that mean the terrorists won?

[ClintonTyree]

2. No..............

that means the Republicans win. I believe this is part of their core srtategy to rid the nation of those nasty entitlements they're always harping about. You know, the ones that actually help AMERICANS who've fallen on hard times BECAUSE of Republican policy. It's the old, "pull yourself up by the bootstrap" crap.