The Cost of Afghanistan and Iraq

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---> Go here.

Watch the numbers roll by.

Enter your state.

Watch the numbers roll by.

We have to stop this insanity.

This country is deeply in debt (Thank you, George Bush 43 & Company), our infrastructure is crumbling around us. Unemployment is high with extremely high numbers in some areas. We alone among the industrialized nations can not find a way to pay for what should morally be a human right for our citizens--health care.

Over 5000 of our troops have given their lives for vengeance because of 2976 victims killed on 11 September 2001. We are upside down in this escapade. We need to to get out.

In addition, our surviving soldiers are deeply hurt by this engagement: too many stop-loss notifications, too many PTSD cases, too many traumatic brain injuries, other injuries/conditions that have not even been identified yet, suicides, family violence & murder, loss--so much loss. We need to get out.

30,000 additional troops to hunt down 100 al-Qaeda members? I don't know where the General that thought up this exercise studied, but apparently there was not even a short course in common sense. (Remember, McChrystal is the same general who tried to cover up the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman. How can McChrystal be trusted?) We need to get out.

"And it's - ONE! TWO! THREE!
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me..."
(Country Joe and the Fish, I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag, 1967)

It's deja vu all over again!

And it is not worth it this time either.

Afghanistan. Afghanistan.

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Just for the record, if any one doubts my position, I think we should declare victory and bring our troops home. Oh, and, BTW, let the contractors (this means BlackWater, KBR/Halliburton, etc) find their own way home--then fine them substantially. Then, subtract the cost of replacement equipment--Humvees, tanks, tents, anything--we are forced to leave in situ, from their next payments to be received from us (the US Govt).

In addition, we (this country) must take care of the returning veterans for years and years.

"The true cost of the war in Afghanistan, like all wars, must include a lifetime of support for veterans and their families. As important as the number of planes, trucks and weapons allocated to Afghanistan are the number of surgeons, psychiatrists and case workers resourced at home. The men and women who serve in Afghanistan, hundreds of thousands of whom have already served multiple tours, cannot afford another Walter Reed-type situation."

Postulate: in WWII, we won against 2 advanced military powers in 4 years, but we can't defeat the Taliban in 8!

Now--

More U.S. military personnel have taken their own lives so far in 2009 than have been killed in either the Afghanistan or Iraq wars this year, according to a Congressional Quarterly compilation of the latest statistics from the armed services.

Moreover, the total number who have killed themselves in 2009 is probably higher than 334, because the figure does not include unavailable suicide statistics for 2009 for Marine Corps reservists or veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan who have left the service.

Thank about that.

Let it sink in.

Now, go back and read this post from 7 March 2009.

"And it's - ONE! TWO! THREE!
What are we fighting for?
Don't ask me..."

(Country Joe and the Fish, I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-to-Die Rag, 1967)

It's deja vu all over again!

And it is not worth it this time either.
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From Michelle Tan - Staff writer Army Times

• As many as 18 soldiers killed themselves in February, Army officials announced March 5.
• Of the 18 cases in February, two are confirmed as suicides and 16 others remain under investigation. About 90 percent of such pending cases typically are ruled suicides.
• Seventeen of the soldiers were male; one was female. Of the deaths, 14 occurred in the U.S. and four overseas.
• Last month’s numbers are higher than the previous February, when 11 soldiers’ deaths were confirmed as suicides.
• This February’s number represents a slight drop from as many as 24 suicides in January. Of the January deaths, 12 have been confirmed as suicides and 12 are suspected.
• The January total was the highest monthly toll for the Army in nearly 30 years.

Re-read Saturday's post.