About 17 years ago
President George W. Bush was persuaded to invade Iraq on alleged “weapons of
mass destruction” held by Saddam Hussein. That decision was made on some
dubious intelligence, contrary to any advice of U.S. allies and then
precipitated a humanitarian crisis.
The bill for that venture
was USD6 trillion so far and still counting. Nearly 7,000 Americans have been
killed and more than 600,000 U.S. troops injured. Opinion Research (ORB)’s
study estimates 1.0 million Iraqis have been killed in 2007. That figure rises
to over 2.4 million on current estimates (Code pink for Peace). War cannot
bring regime change.
The U.S. Federation of
Scientists estimates that even limited U.S. military action against Iran would
cost USD60 billion to USD2 trillion – in the first 3 months alone! Oil prices climbed from USD23 per barrel in 2003 to USD140 per barrel by summer
of 2008. War with Iran will most certainly disrupt supply and spike prices to
USD250 per barrel (according to industry experts).
The cost of war has been
paid by the national “credit card” – borrowed money, not taxes. Consequently,
U.S. national debt is at its highest since World War II. The burden of debt
will fall on lower/middle income households and on future generations of Americans.
The Trump policy of
withdrawing troops from conflict zone of Afghanistan and Iraq runs contrary to
bellicose, go-for-broke tactics in dealing with Iran. The maximum pressure
campaign is bad enough – it may not change Iran’s behaviour and is merely ratcheting
up tensions that may accidently get out of hand.
A better course is to
re-enter the Iran nuclear deal and “tweak” it to suit U.S. interests. But that
may require a new administration. However, with Bolton out of the picture,
maybe some parties may get their way to a peaceful resolution to the Iran
conflict.
References:
1. War
with Iran will cost more than the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, Linda J
Bilmes, Rosella Cappella Zielinski and Neta C Crawford, June 24, 2019 (www.bostonglobe.com)
2. War
with Iran would be disastrous and enormously costly, Wiliam Hartung, Sept
5, 2019 (www.forbes.com)
Source: https://www.globalvillagespace.com/us-iran-conflict-intensifies-who-is-to-blame/
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