Wonktonodi said:
rocketpig said:
SamuelRSmith said:
Just looking at the raw cost isn't everything. You have to also consider what the net effect will be to the economy in the long run. The Iraq War is paving the way for a secure oil pipeline, an allied state in the Middle-East, and (eventually) another nation of wealthy citizens embarking upon international trade. Over the decades, this will easily offset the financial cost of the war.
The stimulus package... well, it's kept a few inefficient companies afloat, it hasn't really corrected any of the fundamental flaws (and a stimulus package never will), and is causing prolonged economic turmoil. What's more, the long run inflation caused by the deficit is going to be crippling, and tending to the debts will cause decades of austerity.
I firmly believe that if we had let everything run its course naturally, we would be in the midsts of one of the strongest recoveries ever seen.
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Indeed. I love how people assume the Iraq war has been an unmitigated disaster when we have no idea what the longterm consequences/rewards of involving ourselves in the conflict are going to be in 20 years.
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It might also take 20 years to see how well the stimulus truly did. However we'll still be paying for the war in 20 years. In 50 years and Probably much longer. Not the huge numbers of today but we'll still be paying for all the vets who got killed or were injured in the war. Heck were still paying for a vet from WWI
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Actually, no.
Putting money into a single economy has an effect that can be measured in a few years because there is a constant. Within that system, money pouring in and out is measured and the effects are easy to count.
Helping out another economy cannot be judged until the fruition (or lack thereof) has been accurately measured. When that economy involves another culture, atmosphere, etc. then it takes more time.
Or maybe you think the Korean War was a waste of time versus the minor wars America fought in Asia.
The denizens dictate these wars, not the west. We only enable them to change their lives. Whether that happens or not depends on what the people want for themselves.
