I try to keep these things in perspective. Our national debt is over 34 trillion, 80 billion is more like a drop in the bucket, even though we are barely making our interest payments on that debt per year. They call "balancing the budget" being able to make the interest payment on that 34 trillion, nothing much is ever paid on the actual debt.
This is an experiment in democracy building, it's a pretty bold but neccessary experiment that we must be prepared to see fail. It's an alternative to having to take out every middle east nation over there, looks like to me. I think it's a better gamble than the ten billion to Africa which is throwing away good money after bad.
We have poured billions into Africa and cannot buy an industrious spirit for the people there, spirit is not for sale or attainable with cash, and contrary to the Fed's belief system not everyone is an industrious American just waiting to get out.
It may well cost us over 80 billion to realize that not everyone loves and wants the risky business of freedom, because we cannot purchase the spirit of freedom and self determination, that must burn in the heart of the individual, with cash. If that spirit is not in them, we face utter failure, and we are talking about a bunch of welfare babies in the middle east. Heck we no longer have much of that spirit left in the people of the USofA, it's about 50/50, much less in the middle east.
Few men work in the middle east, in Afghanistan work is a shame to be seen doing. In Iraq and in Palestine the majority of citizens live on welfare via oil revenues in Iraq, via American money in Palestine handed over in our name and hidden in payments made to them with the name of the U.N. attached. Not only does the USofA hand over welfare to Palestinians up front, but we contribute to 32% of the welfare money handed over to support them via the U.N. a billion of which is in Arafats bank account.
Freedom is hard work and the risk of failure is borne by the individual, not everyone in the world wants it, and certainly not a majority of the immigrants to the USofA, who only want the riches it produces.
In Mogadushu the rebels disdained the fact that they would ever comply to adopting American ways. They enjoy their life style of only the strong and well armed surviving and resent any intrusion into their on going civil war.
The odds favor failure in pouring 80+ billion into Iraq but there is that slim chance, given their treatment under Saddam, that democracy may bloom there. Everyone will have a different opinion on the subject but the bottom line for me is, roll the dice, see what happens, because the international community will howl if we find we have to kill every mother's son over there to maintain our lifestyle that freedom from terrorism will cost.
I don't see that we have much of a choice here, we are already considered pariahs in the international community. Personally I don't care what they think, but I'm a pull up the draw bridge shut off all trade, and let them destroy each other and themselves with no help from us type. Our protection of Europe and allowing them to shelter under the shadow of our wings has been a very bad idea. It has allowed the cost of self defense to be spent on socialism, and the insanity of thinking it brings, to flourish in those nations that now consider themselves of "superiour enlightenment" to the scruffy minions of the USofA who still refuse to believe that you can talk an armed tyrant into not pulling the trigger of the gun at our temples.
Asking for 80 billion while insane is less insane than the rest of the world in it's present state, and believe me, but for a few exceptions the world has gone barking mad.