Where's Obama - The Sequel to the Sequel

Barak Obama is Now Our War President

Now that President Obama has taken ownership of the failed war effort in Afghanistan that he inherited from the failed Bush Presidency, it is no longer Bush’s war it is now Obama’s war. Just one week before traveling to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, Mr. Obama ordered an additional 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. The annual cost to maintain one soldier in Afghanistan is $1 million, totaling $30 billion a year to maintain these extra 30,000 troops.

According to a September report The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11 published by the Congressional Research Service, the annual cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan for fiscal year 2009 was $150 billion, with the total cost so far equaling a staggering $944 billion. While these numbers are beyond any individual’s ability to conceptualize, it might make it more understandable to take a look at what these staggering amounts of taxpayer dollars might have accomplished if used to improve the quality of life in America, instead of costing countless lives and adding astronomical amounts to the federal debt.

To help put things into perspective, the highest cost estimate (the one used by opponents of single payer health care) is $1.6 trillion over ten years. Although ths is a wildly inflated number, and no responsible policy or budget analyst uses this number, it is still less than the cost of running two failed wars, over a similar period. Yet the very same politicians who say we cannot afford health care reform, have voted for every allocation to support these wars.

With the added cost of the additional 30,000 troops being sent to Afghanistan, the annual cost for both wars will rise to $180 billion. This amount if directed toward human needs rather than toward destruction could pay for important improvements in the quality of life for millions of US citizens. For example, $180 billion could buy health care for more than 34 million Americans currently without health insurance, providing quality, affordable care for people to whom health care is now a luxury that is out of reach.

Looking at just the added cost of sending additional troops to Afghanistan will provide some insight into what each and every American is sacrificing every day that we continue these failed wars. Thirty billion dollars a year can provide health coverage for 5.6 million people, or it could provide full college scholarships for five million young people, making college affordable to students who are now denied this expensive opportunity.

Other examples of how these funds could have been spent include building 173,000 affordable housing units or hiring 354,000 elementary school teachers, or providing 5.7 million college Pell grants to help defray the cost of college or creating 3.4 million Head Start spaces so every child gets a head start on their education.

Remember candidate Obama talking about a green revolution and creating jobs through green industries? What ever happened to that? Well for one thing it is not affordable because of the growing deficit and shrinking tax collections. Instead of seizing the opportunity to redirect our national economy this administration chose to bail out the very people who caused the economic meltdown and who are now rewarding themselves with billions of dollars in undeserved bonuses. If President Obama were as sincere as candidate Obama, instead of bailing out the banks and instead of continuing and building the war efforts, these funds could have been dedicated to developing a green economy, creating millions of well-paying jobs and setting the Untied States in the forefront of the new worldwide economy. For example, just the $30 billion annual cost of the additional troops in Afghanistan could have paid for converting 57 million American homes to renewable forms of energy. Not only creating jobs, but also taking a giant step forward in addressing global warming.

But President Obama is a far cry from candidate Obama. Or as Jay leno said "I'm trying to sum up President Obama's first 11 months in office. He gave billions to Wall Street, cracked down on illegal immigrants getting health care, and he's sending 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan. You know something, he may go down in history as our greatest Republican president ever."