170 Billion Means It Is Time to Say No To War Budget

The comments of Mother Davis at Irregular Times on the significance of the Bush White House's request for 170 billion dollars to pay for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan can be read below. Perhaps 170 billion dollars seems like an arbitrary threshold in the expense of these wars. Certainly, it is long past the time when President Bush promised that the Iraq War would only cost the United States between 50 and 60 billion dollars total. The larger context of this cost seems to be what Mother Davis feels is most important: There is no plausible scenario for an American victory in Iraq or Afghanistan. In fact, the longer these wars go on, the further away from victory we get. Conditions in Iraq and Afghanistan become more anti-American the more we fight against the Islamic radicalsin those countries. The more we strike at militant fundamentalism, the stronger it becomes. If this 170 billion dollars were going to an effective effort to combat terrorism and spread freedom, it would be worth the expense. Given that war has proven an ineffective tool, however, this expense is a wasteful insult to the American people. It's time for an honest admission that the military adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq alike have failed. Here's what Mother Davis had to say on the matter:

170 billion dollars more are about to be thrown away into wars that the United States military is losing in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's the amount that's being requested by the Bush White House for the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, to be spent in 2007 alone. Remember when 87 billion dollars seemed like a scandalous amount? Every year, the costs of the wars in Afghanistan and iraq get bigger. Every year, America's loss in both countries gets deeper. The Taliban in Afghanistan gets stronger the longer Americans stay there. The insurgents in Iraq get more violent the longer we stay there. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have failed. There will be no democratic, free and stable Iraq. Osama Bin Laden will not be captured. Opium production won't be stopped. The Taliban will not be defeated. I'm not saying this because I want it to be true. I'm saying it because it is true. It is stubborn foolishness to spend 170 billion dollars on the continuation of two failed wars. War has been an ineffective tool that has increased our insecurity and made the United States one of the most reviled nations on the planet. It is time for a new approach. No more staying the course. It is time to say no to these two failed wars. It is time for Congress to respond to President Bush's request for 170 billion dollars with a note that his credit is no longer any good. The only war budget President Bush should submit for 2007 is a request for the money necessary to bring our soldiers and their equipment back home.