How expensive is War? Read this article and find out a comparison with all the wars that the US has been involved in.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Summer Reading 16: Iraq War's total nearing Vietnam's price tag
How expensive is War? Read this article and find out a comparison with all the wars that the US has been involved in.
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28 comments:
That's crazy, we were in vietnam for twice as long and we have been in Iraq for only 5 years. Plus, that doesn't account for unwritten expenses, such as veteran benefits and assistance for returning soldiers and wounded soldiers.
But compared to other wars, we spend almost none of our GDP on war, and we spent 35% on WW2. I guess war is expensive.
That is really surprising that the war in Iraq is costing almost as much as the Vietnam War. I didn't know that is was costing that much, like Charles said that doesn't even account for the other odd and end expenses. That is crazy.
I had no idea that the United States has spent $648 billion on the war in Iraq, not including things like veteran benefits, interest on war-related debts, or assistance to war allies. In late 2002, the war was estimated to cost only $50-$60 billion. At least we haven't spent $4.1 trillion like World War II. I can't even imagine spending that kind of money.
This is so crazy that the Iraq war is costing almost as much as the Vietnam war. The war in Iraq is only 38 billion less than the Vietnam War and we were there almost twice as long.
Thats insane, we were in the Veitnam War for alot langer than we have been in Iraq. The costs may have something to do with how times have changed and prices have gotten more expensive however.
Thats not good at all that the war in Iraq is costing almost as much as the Vietnam War. It's not that surprising to me cause we have been fighting over in Iraq for a pretty long time.
I don't get it either. I don't even really understand why we are in Iraq to begin with, but maybe that's just me being naive. *shrug* I would hate to see what the total is with veteran benefits and everything else added in. I feel like people are constantly complaining about our economy and spending money and everything. Would the logical conclusion be to leave the Middle East? I think so sometimes..
From what I read, how can you really know what war cost the most? Weaponry has indeed been improved since earlier years, which makes it cost more. We have a whole new world of expenses than we did back then, so how do we know that this is accurate? We don't. They're all estimates, and that's all that they can be.
The thing that blows my mind the most is that World War II cost $4.1 trillion. Now that is a ridiculous amount. I also feel that there is no way to compare past wars to present day wars. Everything in terms of expenses has changed tremendously since then. The numbers being shown could be billions of dollars off for all we know.
The way I see it...we went over to the Middle East thinking that we would accomplish something. We haven't accomplished anything. Heck, if we wouldnt have gone over there we could afford all of the high rising prices in food, gasoline and other useful recourses.
It is ridiculous that we have spent almost as much on the war in Iraq as the Vietnam war, and the Vietnam war was much longer. Technology has improved, which could well be the reason for the cost increase. But I am amazed by the fact that both of these wars don't even compare to the WWII's cost of $4.1 trillion, which is crazy.
It's really surprising to me that the Iraq war is costing almost as much as the Vietnam war. But in a way it's not since we've been in Iraq so long.
I must agree with Maria. We may need to leave the Middle East just to save money. If we would have withdrew our troops from Iraq earlier, we would have possibly saved more lives as well. I believe once Saddam was executed we should have started a plan to withdraw from Iraq.
I think it is ridiculous that we have spent so much money in Iraq. One of the reasons we went over there was for oil. But gas prices just went up? I think if we left there, we wouldn't be spending so much money on the soldiers and maybe to help with the oil problem we could just go drill somewhere else.. Like Alaska?
It is very surprising to see how much money our country has spent on the war in Iraq. Considering the length of the Vietnam War, it seems impossible for us to have spent almost as much in the short time our nation has been in Iraq. Although this war hasn't added up to the $4.1 trillion like WWII, it is much more costly than expected.
I don't see how this adds up. Why is this war costing so much? Compared to all the wars we have been involved in this one has been the most expensive. This war has not yet been as long as Vietnam war and we are not fighting the world. So where is our money going? Is my question
Wow, that's a long list of wars.
The U.S. needs to slow down and stop jumping into other countries' business and wasting our money and soldiers's lives on wars we can't afford.
In the Vietnam War, we spent an incredible amount of money on a long, miserable war that was wasted. The media has been calling the War on Iraq the Next Vietnam War but I can't disagree more. We're exceeding and will continue to exceed the price of Vietnam. I have constantly been watching commercials of soldiers who served in Iraq asking us to support the war because we are winning. However, the U.S. cannot afford to keep financing every dispute we come across.
We're not resolving anything.
While the price may have increased this makes perfect sense. Weaponry becomes more complex and expensive over the years. Yeah it might be a little high but think about it. If that money is going to pay for body armor and increased armor for Humvees etc then it's saving American lives. I think it's a little stupid to complain about money that is protecting our soldiers. Sure maybe they shouldn't be in harms way in the first place but if they are I for one want them to have the absolute best equipment to get the job done fast and safe. In Vietnam it took ten years to accumulate 363,792 casualties. We've been in Iraq for half that long and have a total official count of 30,490. So for half the time we have a tenth of the casualties. Seems like a pretty good trade off to me. You just have to look at the numbers the right way.
We've only been in Iraq for 5 years, and its already costing as much as the Vietnam War, which we were in for twice as long. We've spent just about $38 million less, that's absolutely nuts.
The war in Iraq's cost nearing that of Vietnam's definitely is surprising considering the difference in length. Though I can understand how, as the article says, the comparisons are imperfect and very rough.
Plus considering the "war in Iraq" isnt even over, the US is still spending. and we havent even really seen much from it. I mean sure...we are safe...no more attackes.... but... the troops are still there and the US is till spending. i think this is why it is a crucial issue in the upcoming elections. Where did the $648 billion dollors gone? oh where oh where could it be??
Its pretty bad that its almost costing as much as the Vietnam War. But hopefully since the candidates say that they are going to try to stop the War in Iraq, it happens. =]
No matter if you agree or not one reason for war is gas and oil. I'm wondering if we stopped war right now and used the money we have spent so far how much that would bring our gas right now. 10 billion dollars per month and say around 150 million people that drive in the U.S. That means $66.67 for every driver to buy more gas. That is 19 gallons of gas free every month for every American that drives. Pretty crazy.
Tell me one good thing that is getting accomplished that is worth this amount of spending. This is a stupid move by the goverment spending this much on a war and spending it so quickly. The Korean war last much longer that the Iraq war and we have already spent double what we spent in Korea. This is just ridiculous.
WOW! I didnt know this war was costing us this much! Almost as much as the Vietnam war? yeah, we just need to come home and start spending our money on more important things...like our DEBT!
The vietnam war only spent $38 billion more dollars on war than war in Iraq and This war has been going on such less time. There is no need to spend that much money. At least they havent spent as much as WWII....yet.
The time and cost of the war in Iraq is really surprising in comparison to the vietnam war. Though when you think about it it makes sense. The things we use for war today cost millions of dollars just to make one or two of. The more technilogical war gets the more it will cost.
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