The System works because you work!

The System works because you work!

DEATH BY GOVERNMENT: GENOCIDE AND MASS MURDER

DEATH BY GOVERNMENT: GENOCIDE AND MASS MURDER
All told, governments killed more than 262 million people in the 20th century outside of wars, according to University of Hawaii political science professor R.J. Rummel. Just to give perspective on this incredible murder by government, if all these bodies were laid head to toe, with the average height being 5', then they would circle the earth ten times. Also, this democide murdered 6 times more people than died in combat in all the foreign and internal wars of the century. Finally, given popular estimates of the dead in a major nuclear war, this total democide is as though such a war did occur, but with its dead spread over a century

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Monday, April 4, 2011

Afghanistan's war costs to rise above Iraq's When will we the people ever get tired of paying for nothing? But the deaths of others kids in uniform along with civilians and enriching corporations so the the cycle never ends. We give them the chains to chain us, never questioning the whole thing!


Afghanistan's war costs to rise above Iraq's

The price tag for running the war in Afghanistan will outstrip the cost of the conflict in Iraq next year, according to budget documents released today by the Pentagon.
Afghanistan, in the words of chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is now supposed to be the Pentagon’s “main effort” and “strategic focus.”  This budget makes it official: the department is requesting a $130 billion (£85 billion) “overseas contingency operations” fund, of which the Afghanistan campaign will receive the largest share.
Vice Admiral Steve Stanley, the director of force structure, resources and assessment on the Joint Staff, told reporters that the budget request represents “where you’re going to first see the swing of not only dollars or resources, but combat capability” from Iraq to Afghanistan.
“The money requested here – about $65 billion for Afghanistan – actually exceeds the $61 billion that we’re requesting for Iraq,” he said. “So that’s the first time in our war costs request.”
Those numbers are based on keeping an average of around 100,000 troops in Iraq and 68,000 in Afghanistan. Troop levels are supposed to come down gradually in Iraq over the next year, and these numbers are based on plans to bring troop levels down to around 50,000 by the end of the fiscal year, according to Pentagon Comptroller Robert Hale. In addition to paying for a ramping-up of troop levels, the Afghanistan portion of the operations budget will pay for new equipment, like the scaled-down version of the Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected truck that will be customised for the primitive roads of Afghanistan.
Of course, none of these dollar figures are carved in granite. These are just budget promises, based on certain assumptions about how the wars will progress in the year to come. Afghanistan and Iraq have a habit of shredding such predictions. And then, there’s Congress’ habit of packing war spending bills with projects designed to appeal to certain interest groups...
The inclusion of the “contingency operations” money in the base Pentagon budget marks a departure from the budgeting practices of the Bush administration, which paid for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan largely through “emergency” supplemental appropriations. That practice worried lawmakers and budget watchdogs, who argued that the practice limited oversight and encouraged profligate spending. We’ll be taking a closer look at this $664 billion (£440 billion) budget, which is supposed to set the template for more disciplined spending within the Department of Defence.
Story
Written by Nathan Hodge
Edited by Holden Frith
Photo
Flickr CC: Army.mil

Comments

  1. "And then, there’s Congress’ habit of packing war spending bills with projects designed to appeal to certain interest groups..." Sorry, I'm not well-read enough to know what you're referring to....even a hint of where to look would be nice....   
    DW
    May 11th 2009
  2. Afghanistan is also funded by NATO forces to a higher degree than Iraq, I'm not sure on totals though. So hopefully we'll also see the leadership priority shift to Afghanistan too, rather than just treasure.   
    JackM
    May 22nd 2009
  3. This war is the second expensive for U.S. after the World War II. Here I've tried to summarize all costs of the Iraq war for Americans: http://www.myhowtoos.com/en/red-hot/86-all-costs-of-war-in-iraq-for-usa   
    Dawood
    Aug 31st 2009

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