Posted on 08/24/2011 3:04:27 AM PDT by KantianBurke
The U.S. military is pursuing talks over a possible troop presence in Iraq beyond the end of 2011, a deal that if struck could cost billions annually and complicate efforts to reduce the nation's untamed deficit. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Friday that Iraqi leaders have agreed that "we negotiate on some kind of training" program. Though the comment prompted a flurry of media reports claiming Iraq had agreed to extend the U.S. non-combat troop presence into 2012, the Pentagon stressed that Panetta had merely confirmed that the Iraqis "have said yes to discussions about the strategic relationship beyond 2011, and what that relationship might look like."
Such an arrangement with Iraq could cost between $5 billion and $10 billion a year, according to one budget analyst. Todd Harrison, a senior fellow with the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, said his "rough estimate" is based on the assumption that as many as 10,000 trainers remain in the country. If the assumption holds true, U.S. budget writers could be looking at another $100 billion in Iraq war costs over the next decade.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
The old folks will just have live on less each month, $500 ought to buy enough pet food if they go with the cheaper brands.
The party’s over and nobody wants to go home.
Obama says spending is good for the economy,
things will be booming soon.
Oil for trainers. It’s time to stop working for
nothing.
SO we were having another budget argument her on FR and the subject of military spending came up. I went to wiki or something and started compiling a list of who spent how much. Here is what I found:
Rank; Country; Military expenditure, % of GDP, 2009;
1; United States; 4.7%
36; Iraq; 5.4%
I mean seriously? Iraq spends only 5.4% of its GDP on defense compared to our 4.7?
Let’s see if I can type better than a fifth grader:
So we were having another budget argument here on FR and the subject of military spending came up. I went to wiki or something and started compiling a list of who spent how much. Here is part of what I found:
Rank; Country; Military expenditure, % of GDP, 2009;
1; United States; 4.7%
36; Iraq; 5.4%
I mean seriously? Iraq spends only 5.4% of its GDP on defense compared to our 4.7?
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