The beginning of the end...

The war in Iraq was a bad idea, needless to say. The Bush Administration planned that the transition phase would result a reduction of human and economic costs. Instead, the conflicts totals over 15,000 Iraqi civilians deaths, plus a count of over 40,000 wounded, coalition casualties nearing 10,000 soldiers, and an average of 17 non-Iraqi contractors dying every month. And the health impacts of the 2,200 tons of depleted uranium weaponry used during the March 2003 bombing campaign are yet to be known. This was all approved by the US Congress, which released $151.1 billion and is currently debating a supplemental appropriation of $60 billion. As I write this article, the total financial cost of war was $161,667,491,991… How can there be any money left to invest in social development?
The war budget voted by the Congress could have paid close to 23 million housing vouchers; health care for over 27 million uninsured Americans; salaries for nearly 3 million elementary school teachers; 678,200 new fire engines; or health care coverage for 82 million children. But it won’t. It won’t because the Congress has not social agenda. The price to pay for poor Americans goes far beyond actual figures. The war in Iraq will generate decades of economic troubles in the US, including an expanded trade deficit and high inflation. This economic crisis will be cushioned by the usual policy of social budget cuts, which will causally increase poverty, inequalities and discrimination; and consequently exacerbate civil unrest and internal security issues. Such predicament, accompanied by the increasing power of China and the EU, can only precipitate the weakening and the inevitable end of USA hegemonic position in the international scene. Thirty years from now, some folks in Texas will remember: “This war was a bad idea… a bad idea.”