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The three trillion dollar war
Joseph E. Stiglitz on the true cost of the Iraq War.
Winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Economics, Joseph E. Stiglitz of Columbia University is the author of The Three Trillion Dollar War: The True Cost of the Iraq Conflict. The book assesses the true cost of the Iraq War as $3 trillion - and counting - rather than the $50 billion projected by the White House and measures what the US taxpayer's money would have produced if instead it had been invested in the further growth of the US economy.
Joseph E. Stiglitz is now University Professor at Columbia University in New York and Chair of Columbia University's Committee on Global Thought. He is also the co-founder and Executive Director of the Initiative for Policy Dialogue at Columbia. In 2001, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in economics for his analyses of markets with asymmetric information.
Stiglitz was a member of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1993-95, during the Clinton administration, and served as CEA chairman from 1995-97. He then became Chief Economist and Senior Vice-President of the World Bank from 1997-2000.
Stephanie Flanders is the BBC's Economic Editor. Before joining the BBC Flanders worked in New York as a reporter for the New York Times, and as principal editor of the UN's 2002 Human Development Report. Before heading off to America, she was a leader writer and economics columnist with the FT in London. Joseph E. Stiglitz on the true cost of the Iraq War. ... more -
US military deaths in Iraq war at 4,155
As of Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, at least 4,155 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. As of Monday, Sept. 8, 2008, at least 4,155 members of the U.S. military have died in the Iraq war since it began in March 2003, accor... more
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Another Iraqi casualty of American occupation: their waistlines
It only took five years, but the obesity epidemic has reared it's head as an unexpected consequence of the Iraq war. Sectarian violence in Iraq has kept many people retreating into the safety of their homes, drastically altering their previously lifestyles. War doesn't make people fat, but the sedentary lifestyle that comes with staying indoors can. "To go out was to risk being kidnapped, killed by a bomb or caught up in the other violence plaguing Iraq. Curfews hindered people who tried to remain active." The result? a 2006 World Health Organization survey reported 26% of men and 38% of women ages 25 to 65 were obese, with a BMI of 30 or higher. It only took five years, but the obesity epidemic has reared it's head as an unexpected consequence of the Iraq war. Sectarian vi... more
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Iraq War's Environmental Impact
Iraq War's Environmental Impact
A fascinating report by Oil Change International calculates greenhouse gas emissions of the Iraq War and a snapshot of the opportunities lost involved in fighting war rather than climate change.
Some of the findings of the report:
* Activities in the Iraq war have released at least 141 million metric tons of carbon since March 2003, equal to putting 25 million more cars on the road in the U.S.
* Projected U.S. spending on the Iraq war would be enough for all of the GLOBAL investments required in renewable energy generation between 2008 and 2030 to stop current global warming trends.
* The $600 billion allocated by Congress for Iraq military operations could have built 9000 wind farms, enough to meet a quarter of U.S. present electricity needs.
* In 2006, The U.S. spent more on the Iraq War than the entire world spent on renewable energy investment.
* U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama has pledged to spend “$150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of green energy technology and infrastructure.” The U.S. spends nearly $150 billion on the Iraq War in just 10 months.
Where do these Iraq War emissions come from?
Fuel used in combat, oil well fires and increased gas flaring, the increase in cement consumption due to reconstruction efforts and security needs, and explosives and chemicals that contribute to global warming.
The report authors note that these emissions estimates are very conservative
Source: A Climate of War: The War in Iraq and Global Warming By Nikki Reisch and Steve Kretzmann, March 2008 Iraq War's Environmental Impact ... more -
Iraq War Veterans Testify about War Crimes
Winter Soldier Conference sponsored by IVAW and Democracy Now. Several soldiers detailing their time in Iraq
For the full clips and more please visit:
http://www.ivaw.org Winter Soldier Conference sponsored by IVAW and Democracy Now. Several soldiers detailing their time in Iraq ... more -
Iraq war's total cost nearing Vietnam's price tag
The total cost of the Iraq war is approaching the Vietnam War's expense, a congressional report estimates, while spending for military operations after 9/11 has exceeded it.The new report by the Congressional Research Service estimates the U.S. has spent $648 billion on Iraq war operations, putting it in range with the $686 billion, in 2008 dollars, spent on the Vietnam War, the second most expensive war behind World War II. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. has doled out almost $860 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world.
All estimates, adjusted for inflation, are based on the costs of military operations and don't include expenses for veterans benefits, interest on war-related debts or assistance to war allies, according to the nonpartisan CRS.Here are the report's estimated costs of major wars, in 2008 dollars, and their costs as a percentage of GDP in each of their peak years:
_American Revolution: $1.8 billion; GDP figure not available
_War of 1812: $1.2 billion; 2.2 percent
_Civil War, Union: $45.2 billion; 11.3 percent
_Civil War, Confederacy: $15.2 billion; GDP figure not available
_World War I: $253 billion; 13.6 percent
_World War II: $4.1 trillion; 35.8 percent
_Korean War: $320 billion; 4.2 percent
_Vietnam War: $686 billion; 2.3 percent
_Gulf War: $96 billion; 0.3 percent
_Iraq war: $648 billion; 1 percent
_Afghanstian/Global war on terror: $171 billion; 0.3 percent
_Post 9/11 domestic security: $33 billion; 0.1 percent
_Post 9/11 operations: $859 billion; 1.2 percent The total cost of the Iraq war is approaching the Vietnam War's expense, a congressional report estimates, while spending for mil... more -
Wars kill 5.4m in last 50 years
About 5.4 million deaths caused by armed conflicts occurred between 1955 and 2003 in 13 nations surveyed, ranging from a low of 7000 in the Democratic Republic of Congo to 3.8million killed in Vietnam.Previous research, based on media reports or before-and-after census figures, have tended to severely underestimate war-related fatalities among combatants and civilians, argues the study released yesterday.These so-called "passive" reports "are typically the only ones available during ongoing conflicts, and represent the most commonly cited sources for government and other estimates of war casualties", says the study, published in the British Medical Journal.Scientists from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle, led by Ziad Obermeyer, used a new approach based on health survey data collected in 2002 and 2003. The World Health Organisation surveys queried one respondent for each household about sibling deaths.Even the new figures might underestimate the number of conflict fatalities, said Richard Garfield, of Columbia University."The study only includes violent deaths," he wrote in a commentary in the same journal. "In the poorest countries, where most conflicts now occur, a rise in deaths from infectious disease often dwarfs the number of violent deaths during a conflict."Professor Garfield added: "Most excess deaths in areas of conflict in developing countries occur in non-combatants, and these deaths are often not counted."
Some countries included in the study showed many times the number of violent war deaths counted in another widely cited report of armed-conflict fatalities compiled by Uppsala University in Sweden and the International Peace Research Institute in Oslo.During the 50 years covered by the new study, Bangladesh had 269,000 such deaths, with 141,000 in Zimbabwe, nearly five times more than in the Uppsala/IPRIO report.The figure for Sri Lanka jumped from 61,000 to 215,000.The violent death toll in Vietnam nearly doubled, to 3.8 million.But in the other countries examined - Burma, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Namibia and The Philippines - deaths dropped compared to earlier assessments. About 5.4 million deaths caused by armed conflicts occurred between 1955 and 2003 in 13 nations surveyed, ranging from a low of 7000 i... more -
Iraq war could cost taxpayers $2.7 trillion
In addition to the cost of war, taxpayers pay for rising veteran health care costs, and returning soldiers faced with foreclosure and unemployment. In addition to the cost of war, taxpayers pay for rising veteran health care costs, and returning soldiers faced with foreclosure and ... more
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Divorce rates among troops "soaring"
There were about 8,700 divorces involving American soldiers last year, compared to an estimated 5,500 in 2001. Research shows that career soldiers are much more likely to contemplate divorce than in the past.
With the Iraq war in its sixth year, some American soldiers are on their third or fourth combat tour - 15 months away from home with just 18 days' leave. The strain is showing on their relationships and many will return home, exhausted, to find a disenchanted wife has walked out. Divorce rates among the US military are soaring. There were about 8,700 divorces involving American soldiers last year, compared to an estimated 5,500 in 2001. Research shows that car... more -
Congress asks Big Oil to justify big profits
Ha! Asking someone to change their ways of getting hard, blooded and cold cash it is never been easy. The fact is that this is sooo late. These guys should have been acting on this issue back in 1980's and they should have something better to offer by now to the American People. What I mean, they are sucking from the economy for so long and seating in their comfortable chairs for so long and have not come up with an alternative to their blooded worldwide mess. You got to read the whole article and see how these big fat cats gets away with murder. Ha! Asking someone to change their ways of getting hard, blooded and cold cash it is never been easy. The fact is that this is sooo la... more
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War in Congo continues to kill 45,000 each month
The deadliest conflict since the second world war is that which continues today in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This survey reports that 5.4 million Congolese have been killed in less than a decade, and at present, about 45,000 people die each month -- half of them small children. While not all of the reported deaths are directly related to combat, the preventable diseases and starvation that have been aggravated by conflict are claiming many thousands of lives.
"Congo is one of 11 countries where 20% of children die before the age of five, according to a Unicef report released yesterday." The deadliest conflict since the second world war is that which continues today in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This survey repor... more
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