On Pakistan, Republican Senator Says US Should Consider Yet Another War
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Senate Armed Services Committee member and South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham thinks the United States should be open to military action against Pakistan. According to Graham, Pakistan is complicit with terrorists in Afghanistan that America is fighting.
He said if experts decided that the U.S. needs to “elevate its response,” he was confident there would be strong bipartisan support in Congress for such action.
So let’s check the score card. As recent as July of this year America was flying drones over 6 countries, engaged in a war in Afghanistan and still have troops in Iraq. In the meantime back home, the country is crumbling under crushing debt largely due in part to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. A recent Brown University study puts the total financial cost America has spent due to war since 2001 at around $3.7 trillion.
How have we paid for this? Entirely through borrowing. Spending on the wars and on added security at home has accounted for more than one-quarter of the total increase in U.S. government debt since 2001. And not only did we fail to pay as we went for the wars, the George W. Bush administration also successfully pushed to cut taxes in 2001 and again in 2003, which added further to the debt. This toxic combination of lower revenues and higher spending has brought the country to its current political stalemate.
Let’s also not forget those same tax cuts were renewed at the end of 2010 at a cost of roughly another $4.3 trillion over 10 years. Obama wanted to cut that cost down by repealing the tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans, those making over $250k per year, which would have saved $1-2 trillion off that cost. I’m looking at about $8 trillion worth of America’s estimated $14.7 trillion debt. Want to really crap a brick? All total US debt combined is estimated at $120 trillion! I digress.
The point is, war is killing the United States financially (not to mention the lives of those serving) and this genius is up for starting yet another one. War is expensive, hell the U.S. is spending $20 billion a year alone on air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan as it is.
And. It’s. All. Borrowed. Money.
This type of war mongering attitude will be the undoing of America. Ancient Rome says “Hi!” Clearly this type of mentality does not work. You can’t constantly borrow and spend money you don’t have. This time credit cards say “Hi!” Oh whoops, America’s credit rating was downgraded so now the interest rate is higher.
What world is Graham living in that allows him to believe there would be “bipartisan support” or even the support of the American people? If you want to spend money you don’t have at least spend it at home on those who are footing the bill for the debt you are piling up. This is how you rein in spending. Stop throwing money away in foreign lands. Those billions being spent monthly on killing, invading and bombing countries most American’s can’t spell the names of could be spent on strengthening the failing education system that could at least teach them how to spell them.
If Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence agency is indeed helping the terrorists that we are fighting then we probably shouldn’t be giving the country aid every year as we have been. The money can either be used here at home or just not spent at all. Engaging in yet another war is irresponsible at best and totally apeshit insane at worst.
This war on terror will forever be a failed crusade. At this point it is a burden of pride and ego to continue. America, as one of the world’s youngest major nations and cultures, needs to learn what every coming of age teenager learns at some point. There is no shame in a little humility especially to avoid losing it all.
“They’ve got money for wars but can’t feed the poor” – Tupac Shakur
Additional:
http://news.yahoo.com/senator-consider-military-action-against-pakistan-164625239.html
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/trillion_the_shocking_true_size_tOxcrobUBUup9IEW3vQAhJ
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe–bilmes-war-cost-20110918,0,999206.story?track=rss
http://costsofwar.org
Jaylon Carter is a blogger, social media marketing consultant, former Congressional Campaign Media & Communications Director, national labor union vice block leader, and a Hip Hop artist who performs under the stage name Timid (@timidmc).
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