Maxing out the credit card on Iraq
The really had an excellent article about how the U.S. Treasury pays for this war. In 2005 and 2006, the expenditures for this war did not even appear on the official budget. So how is it being paid for? The CSM has the answer:
But to pay for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the US hasused its credit card, counting on the Chinese and other foreign buyersof its debt to pay the bills.
Now, as President Bush is promising to boost the number of troops inIraq, there is increased scrutiny over how the US is going to pay forit all.
The US is spending about $10 billion a month on Iraq andAfghanistan. By the end of this year, the total funds appropriated willbe nearly $600 billion – approaching the amount spent on the Vietnam orKorean wars, when adjusted for inflation.
President Bush took us into Iraq because he felt (and remember that "feeling is different than "thinking") that it would benefit U.S. national security. Now, he is escalating the war by 20,000 more forces because of that very same feeling. But is it in the interest of U.S. national security to owe half-trillion dollars to banks in China and other undemocratic regimes? Remember, we have to pay interest on that debt. Also remember that debt decreases the value of currency.
So the next time Congress appropriates another $150 billion or so for Iraq, please remind your elected officials that our grandkids' generation will have a substantially devalued currency unless we can pay for what we spend on this war.
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