# How Long Can We Afford Iraq? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 28, 2003, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-we-afford-iraq/198112 "2003-08-28T01:35:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-we-afford-iraq/198112/41 "2003-09-15T16:31:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > Please don’t hijack the anti-Bush ranting by bringing facts and figures into this “debate”. It doesn’t spoil anything for me. I will enjoy seeing President Bush squirm while he begs for money and mercy whether he is begging at the doors of the US Capitol or at the doors of the UN HQ. The Congress might give him less of a hard time now but he knows how many votes it’s going to cost him later. Personally I think he should be a man and forget the “irrelevant” UN. He should proudly go to the Congress and proudly announce that America has no problem paying for its own messes no matter what the cost. Americans love a proud president. No wimps wanted in the White House. And if it costs taxpayers money and jobs and a bad economy. . . so what? Being #1 is worth that and more. How much would _you_ be willing to pay to call the UN “irrelevant” and the French “decadent”? Isn’t that worth a lot? ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-we-afford-iraq/198112/42 "2003-09-15T16:47:31Z")
Once again, life imitates satire: “U.S. Forms Own U.N.” [http://www.theonion.com/onion3911/us\_forms\_own\_un.html](http://www.theonion.com/onion3911/us_forms_own_un.html) If only it didn’t cut so close… ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-we-afford-iraq/198112/43 "2003-09-15T17:15:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eva Luna \* > \*\*Once again, life imitates satire: > > “U.S. Forms Own U.N.” > > [http://www.theonion.com/onion3911/us\_forms\_own\_un.html](http://www.theonion.com/onion3911/us_forms_own_un.html) > > If only it didn’t cut so close… \*\* We already did that. I like to call it NATO. Actually, why aren’t we using more NATO support instead of going to the UN? ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-we-afford-iraq/198112/44 "2003-09-15T17:36:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by asterion \* > Actually, why aren’t we using more NATO support instead of going to the UN? Because other NATO countries told the USA to take a hike? Like Turkey. And France? Hey, it’s _France_ again! They’re everywhere and they have to be stopped! What is amazing is how the USA has managed to antagonize so much of the world. It used to be that only China or Soviet Union or Cuba could manage such a feat. It used to be that the great strength of the USA was that it could muster so many allies. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-we-afford-iraq/198112/45 "2003-09-15T17:41:32Z")
Last I checked, the U.S. is not the only member of NATO, either. And several NATO members have been quite outspoken in their criticism of U.S. policy in Iraq. ---
**Author:** ![Sterra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8c91f0/32.png) [@Sterra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sterra)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2003, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-we-afford-iraq/198112/46 "2003-09-15T18:04:00Z")
I wonder if Congress will actually give Bush the money without repealing at least part of the tax cut. Because if you look at the polls the majority of Americans don’t want to support giving Bush the $87 billion, but a majority do support giving Bush $87 billion with the repeal of at least part of the tax cut. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-can-we-afford-iraq/198112.md?page=2)