Letter: Wars have already sent us over the fiscal cliff
To the community,
There is loud chatter on the national stage about going over the fiscal cliff if there’s no action soon. It’s a bit late because we’ve already marched over the cliff to the tune of “Yankee Doodle Dandy” in Afghanistan.
In 2006, congressional researchers estimated it cost $390,000 per soldier per year in Afghanistan. By 2009, the cost had increased to $1 million per year.
Bill Crawford
In Baltimore in June 2011, at the annual meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the mayors called for an end to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and use the $126 billion annual savings to rebuild U.S. cities. The mayor of Los Angeles said, “That we could build bridges in Baghdad and Kandahar and not Baltimore and Kansas City absolutely boggles the mind.”
The fiscal cost is immense. And the random wholesale killing of civilians by U.S. soldiers and drones is morally outrageous. Spiritually, we have come close to bankruptcy.
I believe our city should by resolution call for a quick end to our wars in the Middle East. And our city should call upon the League of California Cities to call for an end to the wars.
For most our history it was the policy of our government not to fight land wars in Asia. Let’s return to that policy and save ourselves.
Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe
PS: Our global network of bases and 255,000 overseas troops costs about $250 billion annually.
So if I understand what you’re saying Bill is to stop the war, bring the troops home, I’m with you thus far, then take that money we are spending on the war and over-sea troops and what, spend it?
This is where we part – this country must stop all the spending! It’s completely out of control and it will be this not these wars that bring this country down. The tax payers are expected to send this Government more money to waste? They have plenty of money, how they spend it is the problem…
If we bring all the soldiers home, won’t this increase our unemployment numbers?
Could we put soldiers to work on fixing infrastructure?
Thanks for bringing this up, Bill. Does anyone talk about the endless wars anymore? It’s as if they don’t exist….until they bankrupt us.
Yes Bill, lets cut the defense budget in half then give 50 % of the savings to cutting the debt, 25% to restore education and general welfare cuts, ten 25% to Israel and let them handle the middle East issues. We do not need bigger and faster planes to fight the Al Qaida air force, and submarines seem irrelevant on the desert. Other then terrorists threats there are no nations interested in a conquering us as far as I can tell.