# 300 billion paid for Iraq so far. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 22, 2005, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530 "2005-04-22T01:23:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![UncleBeer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/977dab/32.png) [@UncleBeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBeer)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/61 "2005-04-25T13:52:10Z")
> [@](#): > > Sure, 300 Billion is a lot of money. So what? Wars are expensive. Nobody ever said that this was going to be cheap. Mebbe. But the gov’t should **still** have to justify spending that amount of money. And the justifications we’ve been hearing since it became apparent Bush was gonna host this little fracas come hell or highwater, just aren’t adequate. ---
**Author:** ![Agent\_Cooper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@Agent\_Cooper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agent_Cooper)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/62 "2005-04-25T23:57:00Z")
I’ll cast my heartless vote for: “YES. That money _should_ have been spent on Americans first. Even if they had tried to sell the war as a humanitarian cause, which they never did until all the other reasons had fallen apart.” Anyone recall GW’s thoughts on Nation Building from the 2000 debates… ? Oh yeah it was … “I think what we need to do is convince people who live in the lands they live in to build the nations. Maybe I’m missing something here. I mean, we’re going to have kind of a nation building core from America? Absolutely not. Our military is meant to fight and win war. That’s what it’s meant to do. And when it gets overextended, morale drops. … I’m going to be judicious as to how to use the military. It needs to be in our vital interest, the mission needs to be clear, and the exit strategy obvious.” and "I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place. So I would take my responsibility seriously. And it starts with making sure we rebuild our military power. Morale in today’s military is too low. We’re having trouble meeting recruiting goals. We met the goals this year, but in the previous years we have not met recruiting goals. Some of our troops are not well-equipped. I believe we’re overextended in too many places. " Yawn. Fucking retards. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/63 "2005-04-26T00:07:21Z")
Sorry, I haven’t read the thread. But it occurred to me: What does that work out to? About $1,000 for every person in the U.S.? I could have used that $1,000 to buy health insurance (since I don’t have a job; and thus, no insurance). Or I could take a holiday. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/64 "2005-04-26T04:23:33Z")
> [@Reeder](#): > > [HeadlineAlley](http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050421/D89K30P00.html) > > How much better that money could have been used. > > So sad. Oh come on, that’s like ~$250Million per dead American. Certainly you’re not intimating that they don’t care! -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/65 "2005-04-26T04:30:57Z")
Oh, and for our latest moron grasping at straws… > [@](#): > > 1. Bush proceeded on possibly flawed intelligence about WMDs in Iraq. Why do I say possibly? Because we don’t know for sure that the alleged weapons were not moved out of the country before combat operations began. [No evidence of weapons moved to Syria](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/25/AR2005042501554.html) But don’t worry. You can rationalize that away. Tune into the EIB network for instructions. Careful, though, start thinking for yourself and you’ll find the straw the breaks your camel’s back at some point. I suppose this is where you try to convince us that the weapons weren’t moved (allegedly, of course) to Syria but Iran instead? You know them Ay-rabs. They’re all working together against 'merika and Jesus after all. -Joe, B-Rab ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/66 "2005-04-26T06:02:35Z")
Don’t worry about it, we can borrow those funds from Social Security and pay it back later. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/67 "2005-04-26T12:46:19Z")
I’d like to take a moment to salute the Loyal Opposition. You know who they are, they know who they are. They fought tooth and nail, falling back and regrouping every time their position collapsed beneath them, desperately grasping for some shred of plausibility…and finally, when the evidence was stark and unrelenting…came around. The Emperor has no flight suit, we been had, and them’s the facts. Oh, there are still some Flat Earth holdouts, positing Kofi Annan smuggling out the vast stockpiles in his briefcase, or some such. There is no proposition so ludicrous that no one will put it forward. But as evidenced here, the greater majority of the honest conservatives have come around, we still have arguments, but this one is over. This may be the only scrap of a silver lining to this entire ghastly debacle, but its worth having, even if not worth what we paid. We need each other. A democracy is oftimes a conspiracy of centrists, undercutting the loonys. Sooner or later, someone on the home team will advance the proposition that we fund a gazillion dollar outreach program for gay/lesbian/transgendered whales. And we can say “Great idea! But the conservatives won’t let us, you know how they can be. Howzabout we compromise on a few million to try and convince people not to hunt them down for cat food and sushi?” Similarly, someone will advance the notion that every school should spend a few minutes a day declaring thier loyalty to a portrait of Jesus dressed in a three piece suit and poring over a spreadsheet. And they can say “Splendid idea! But you know, those atheist Satanist liberals will never go for it, howzabout some money to lend support to worthwhile social programs administered by religious entities? That might fly.” In no wise do I surrender my political position, I remain on the conservative wing of the extreme left. But I recognize the value of progress through negotiation and consensus: listen to the center, educate the center, move the center. Without an honest opposition, this is impossible. Outside of Cognitive Dissonance (the number one threat to the Republic…), this is the most dangerous weakness of a democratic system. If the center cannot hold, things fall apart. This was a bitter lesson, at far, far too high a cost. Let’s salvage what we can, we’d be worse fools not to. Oh, and somebody should go apologize to Scott Ritter. An obstinate, obnoxious jarhead, to be sure, but he told the truth, and was disgracefully ill-treated by those he served honestly and courageously. I don’t want to know him, don’t want to drink with him, but I salute him. Jay voo saloot! as we say in Lubbock… ---
**Author:** ![Twin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/85f322/32.png) [@Twin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Twin)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/68 "2005-04-26T12:55:40Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Oh, and for our latest moron grasping at straws… > > [No evidence of weapons moved to Syria](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/04/25/AR2005042501554.html) > > But don’t worry. You can rationalize that away. Tune into the EIB network for instructions. Careful, though, start thinking for yourself and you’ll find the straw the breaks your camel’s back at some point. > > I suppose this is where you try to convince us that the weapons weren’t moved (allegedly, of course) to Syria but Iran instead? You know them Ay-rabs. They’re all working together against 'merika and Jesus after all. > > -Joe, B-Rab The report said that there could have been elements used to make WMDs moved to Syria. This is likely what occurred. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/69 "2005-04-26T13:16:20Z")
Money well spent, and cheap at the price. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2005, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/70 "2005-04-26T13:27:32Z")
> [@elucidater](#): > > Oh, and somebody should go apologize to Scott Ritter. An obstinate, obnoxious jarhead, to be sure, but he told the truth, and was disgracefully ill-treated by those he served honestly and courageously. I don’t want to know him, don’t want to drink with him, but I salute him. But who? Ritter continues to court the love of the right: [Scott Ritter Says US Attack On Iran Set For June](http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=67&ItemID=7560) > [@Scott Ritter](#): > > There was a growing concern inside the Bush administration, this source said, about the direction the occupation was going. The Bush administration was keen on achieving some semblance of stability in Iraq before June 2005, I was told. > > When I asked why that date, the source dropped the bombshell: because that was when the Pentagon was told to be prepared to launch a massive aerial attack against Iran, Iraq’s neighbor to the east, in order to destroy the Iranian nuclear program. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/71 "2005-04-28T17:51:42Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > You’re joking, of course. If the whole deal was approved today, you wouldn’t see a drop of oil for ten years. The Arctic Refuge is a political tool only, and will provide little if any relief. Exactly, which is why I said “Be patient.” ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/72 "2005-04-29T02:14:42Z")
> [@Twin](#): > > The report said that there could have been elements used to make WMDs moved to Syria. This is likely what occurred. “Elements used to make WMDs”? WTF is that? Next thing you know they might move “elements used to assist in the possiblity of making WMD-related program activity things and stuff”. Pathetic. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![PatriotX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c4cdca/32.png) [@PatriotX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotX)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/73 "2005-04-29T02:47:44Z")
> [@Twin](#): > > The report said that there could have been elements used to make WMDs moved to Syria. This is likely what occurred. They could’ve moved thingies related to weapons activity related type things across the border, maybe. And we cannot conclusively rule out that Nessie and/or Bigfoot helped make this smuggling operation possible. Absence of evidence is not evidence f absence. Nor can we conclusively rule out the possibility that Hussien’s weapons are in Cheney’s used underwears either. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/74 "2005-04-29T03:09:04Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > “Elements used to make WMDs”? WTF is that?.. Well, for instance hydrogen. Very important in WMDs in general, essential for thermonuclear. Nitrogen, another biggie. Kryptonite. And corbomite, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/75 "2005-04-29T03:44:44Z")
> [@PatriotX](#): > > They could’ve moved thingies related to weapons activity related type things across the border, maybe. And we cannot conclusively rule out that Nessie and/or Bigfoot helped make this smuggling operation possible. Absence of evidence is not evidence f absence. Nor can we conclusively rule out the possibility that Hussien’s weapons are in Cheney’s used underwears either. To be fair, Nessie is the ultimate stealth reptile. Consider how much time and effort has been put into finding her…and nothing. If I needed someone to transport my own nukular anthrax, I know which paranormal beastie I’d recruit. -Joe, has nukular anthrax in his underwear ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/76 "2005-04-29T03:46:58Z")
Thank you for sharing with the group. No, really, thanks. But that’s quite enough. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/77 "2005-04-29T03:55:54Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Thank you for sharing with the group. No, really, thanks. But that’s quite enough. Did you know Saddam Hussein had books? As everyone knows, it is impossible to make WMDs without them. I’ll bet you can find Iraqi books in Syria… -Joe, could keep sharing, but won’t ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/78 "2005-04-29T06:58:28Z")
> [@Merijeek](#): > > Did you know Saddam Hussein had books? As everyone knows, it is impossible to make WMDs without them. I’m only slightly surprised the Bush Administration hasn’t tried passing off a crate full of pencils as an example of Saddam’s WMD-making material already. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/79 "2005-04-29T14:58:47Z")
> [@rjung](#): > > I’m only slightly surprised the Bush Administration hasn’t tried passing off a crate full of pencils as an example of Saddam’s WMD-making material already. Once he has the technology for mechanical pencils, what happens next? Imagine, a terrorist who can write ANYWHERE, and the lead is always nice and legible. If the terrorists have pencils, they have already won. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2005, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530/80 "2005-04-29T15:42:27Z")
> [@ccwaterback](#): > > Don’t worry about it, we can borrow those funds from Social Security and pay it back later. We’ve already done the borrowing(and spending). Now what remains to be seen is if the admin can reign in spending to free up the general funds enough to pay it back. Enjoy, Steven [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/300-billion-paid-for-iraq-so-far/300530.md?page=5)