You seem aware of the cost of winning. Now, can you guestimate the cost of losing this particular war?”
I hear ya brother. Not acting also has costs. Pulling out to soon could have grave costs. I supported the war from the beginning and I still support winning in Iraq. I think we are winning.
My point is though if we had better information about how much this war would cost it would have influenced our decision making process. I am not saying that we should have done nothing. But we may have looked harder for a more cost effective option.
Consider the opportunity costs. That $500 billion is $500 billion we can’t spend on something else. What if we could have found a way to assassinate Saddam for a tidy $100 million?
What could you do with $500 billion?
What about a Marshall Plan for America. What about 100 new nuclear reactors, and updating the energy grid and other infrastructure. We could have been investing in massive plants to turn Shale into Oil. We could have built a new pipeline through Alaska and starting drilling up there and in the Arctic circle. These are daydreams of mine. Perhaps would could have hit them harder by going after energy independence and taking away their source of funds. But those are just dreams.
We are where we are, and I support victory in Iraq. None of us can go back, and Ron Paul can’t either. We are waist deep in the muck and the only way is to fight our way out or get slaughtered in retreat.
More than anything I wish this war to be a precedent that America will stick to it and win. I want this war to discourage other potential conflicts. I want it to be the last war, because I do not wish to fight again. The only way that has a chance is if we stick to it and win. On the bright side, I think we are winning.
I applaud your commitment to the War in Iraq. But you're mistaken if you believe Ron Paul, and others, aren't committed to the opposite; a complete withdrawal from Iraq, if not also Afghanistan and the the Middle-East as a whole.
Please! Be aware of the ramifications should certain misguided Americans have their say in the 2008 elections. And Ron Paul can rightly be lumped with that group.
well said...
So again, you are supporting Ron Paul why?
It’s not either or -— especially if private enterprise builds those power plants, etc. Now, if we could get the government out of the way, there’d be more money for power plants.