The true cost of war in Iraq
George W. Bush recently asked us for $87 billion to "get rid of Saddam." So, what's in a billion?
Well, one billion seconds ago, Richard M. Nixon was still president. About one billion minutes ago, the Christians' Jesus still walked this earth. But under Bush's deficit budget, $1 billion ago is just some time after you left work yesterday. Another $3 billion will disappear before you get out of work today! So relax, have another cup of coffee and I hope you are reading someone else's paper. At this rate you can't afford your own every day.
But, "getting rid of Saddam" has also cost us almost 2,000 young soldiers coming home in body bags. Maybe that mother camped out in Crawford, Texas, has a good point. What are we doing in Iraq? If the president can't or won't answer her, maybe another Texas corporate citizen, Halliburton, could tell us. I fought in Vietnam half my lifetime ago. That was 55,000 body bags and I still haven't figured out what we were doing there. I do know this -- we weren't "doing what our president told us we were" either! Pssst, pass it on -- the emperor has no clothes.
Remember that old shampoo commercial, "I told two friends?" Well, when you finish your coffee and reading this paper, do yourself a favor. Go tell two friends.
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Owen Olson
New London
