War in Iraq Video - The Cost, Consequences & Ramifications

In The Cost of War, Iraq war veterans recount their views prior to deployment, their experiences in Iraq, and how those experiences changed them. Families and loved ones of those called on to fight in Iraq recount how the experiences of their loved ones have affected those they left behind. The war in Iraq could ultimately cost well over a trillion dollars -- at least double what has already been spent -- including the long-term costs of replacing damaged equipment, caring for wounded troops, and aiding the Iraqi government, according to a new government analysis. The United States has already allocated more than $500 billion on the day-to-day combat operations of what are now 190,000 troops and a variety of reconstruction efforts. In a report to lawmakers yesterday, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that even under the rosiest scenario -- an immediate and substantial reduction of troops -- American taxpayers will feel the financial consequences of the war for at least a decade. The calculations include the estimated cost to leave some US forces behind for at least several years to support the Iraqi government, but they also predict other long-term costs, such as extended medical care and disability compensation for wounded soldiers and survivor's benefits for the families of the thousands of combat-zone fatalities. The cost of the war in Iraq and other military operations has soared to the point where "we are now spending on these activities more than 10 percent of all the government's annually appropriated funds," said Robert A. Sunshine, the budget office's assistant director for budget analysis. The U.S. military spends roughly a billion dollars a week on the Iraq occupation. (In contrast, Afghanistan occupation costs about a billion dollars a month). Of course, these figures fluctuate. But these are military costs, and do not include reconstruction efforts. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has estimated the cost of "prosecuting" a war against Iraq at up to $9 billion per month, on top of an initial outlay of up to $13 billion for the deployment of troops to the Persian Gulf region. In a letter to the House and Senate budget committees, CBO provided Congress with cost estimates for an armed conflict with Iraq, based on recent similar U.S. military operations including those in the Balkans, Afghanistan, and the 1990 Gulf War. Summary of Iraq War Cost Estimates. CBO estimated the following costs for an Iraq war: Initial deployment of troops: $9 billion to $13 billion. Conducting the war: $6 billion to $9 billion per month. Returning forces to US: $5 billion to $7 billion. Temporary occupation of Iraq: $1 billion to $4 billion per month. Unknown Factors Involved. In arriving at their estimates, CBO acknowledged that exact costs would depend on several "unknown factors" including: actual force size deployed; duration of the conflict; strategy employed; number of casualties; military equipment lost need for reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure; Creative Commons license: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• iraq
• war
• terrorism
• bush
• USA
• army
• military
• terrorists
• veterans
• fatalities
• deaths
• troops
• saddam
• hussein
• soldiers
• America

[gohoda]

great movie well done....may i download this video rosaryfilms???

[rosaryfilms]

gohoda, yes, thank you!

[birdog333]

One of my best friends is a Capt. in the National Guard and we have had many discussions about this and I thank you for taking the time to produce this video. This is the truth. I love my friend and the men and women who serve in the armed forces. I wish our leaders would listen and do what is in the best interest for them and our country.

[rosaryfilms]

birdog333, thank you very much for your comments and for watching!

[shadowofears]

@elmoisamac You are invading Pakistan through Drone Attacks and secondly dont confuse Pakistan with Iraq. Our military is much stronger than Iraq!

[trento7o8]

Our soldiers I'd say 2 out of every 5 have PTSD no further comments.

[EmanoffA]

@Stoyakovick47 Dear Stoyakovick, I would just simply like to inform you that your opinions on this subject are contrived from a mind riddled with bias, propoganda and insufficient access to credible information. You are wrong Stoyakovick. The responsiblity solely rests on your shoulders to determine the span of time it requires for you to realize this.

[katproductionsinc]

Checkout the new song 'Spilling Our Blood For War' on Youtube.

[123ThePowerOfNow]

excellent documentary!can I find a transcript for this somewhere?I would like to translate it into my language.

[maliktary]

mass of wmd is oil

[elmoisamac]

Iraq did not fund anything, we claimed they had weapons of mass destruction (which we sold to them) then when they wouldn't give them up we invaded them and are still occupying them. Also, if this was about who funded terrorists why aren't we invading Saudi Arabia or Pakistan (look it up). Also, who cares about our casualty rate when during this war 110,000 Iraqi Civilians (actual body count) have been killed in violence and estimates of the real numbers range from 150,000-600,000.

[elmoisamac]

The official body count for iraqis is 110,000 with less than 20,000 "insurgents" killed. Additionally, many more iraqis have been killed with no official report, but some studies estimate 200,000-600,000 iraqis have died from violence. In my opinion this sounds like genocide. The media barely tells us these facts, but it's what I think really matters. It makes me ashamed to be an American.

[Daan19]

Does anyone here realise that, no matter what the number of casualties is, one is too many. The war in Iraq is nothing more than US empirialism,, enriching a select few (Haliburton, Oil industry), destroying a country, and justifying all this in the name of fighting terror. WAKE UP PEOPLE!. The US has been waging wars based on lies, to take down their own ex-CIA operatives (panama, Cuba) for decenia now, and people are too stupid to realise it. NEVER BELIEVE THE MEDIA!

[Paulginz]

"Yes but they funded the terrorist orginizations"

That's not a valid argument. The US funded the taliban and bin laden, and the CIA put saddam into power in the first place and armed him. (all in the name of fighting communism)

If you add all the dictators and guerillas in south america that received (and still receive) american support too, then if your argument was valid that would mean someone has to start bombing Washington ASAP.