New study reveals staggering cost of Mideast conflicts

[Scurrilous]

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"Countries hit by conflicts in the Middle East have lost 12 trillion dollars over two decades through squandered development and livelihoods, said a study new study launched Friday.

The work was immediately endorsed by several countries that have acted as major peace brokers in the region, including Norway and Switzerland.

The report, by the India-based Strategic Foresight Group, revealed a massive price tag for all sides since 1991 due to the destruction wrought by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, strife in Lebanon and the US invasion of Iraq.

But it also underlined the equally huge potential of a comprehensive peace for countries and territories in the region and their inhabitants, predicting that it would unleash growth from the Mediterranean deep into the Gulf.

Sundeep Waslekar, who headed the study with experts from the regions concerned, said individual incomes for Israelis and Palestinians were half what they would be if peace had been accomplished at the Madrid conference in 1991.

For Iraqis, per capita incomes had been cut to one third over the same period, he added."

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[jwirr]

1. War making is not profitable. Unless you are Helliburtin. Think of all

the property destroyed in a minute that had stood for hundreds of years until we destroyed it. Think of the oil that was wasted when the wells were set fire. Think of the jobs lost, the farms laying idle, the animals killed. The list is endless. And these are just the side effects of war. It does not count the lost wages to the families who lost loved ones. War is indeed HELL.