Comment by Debbie Myers on October 2, 2011 at 8:03pm

After the president/advisors getting so much wrong, why should I feel good about them assinating an American citizen without due process. Guilty or not this is a dangerous practice. Recently we have seen abuse of power under the Patriot Act & other legislation that is interpreted for their specific cause. Gibson Guitar, Rawsome Foods, Organic Farms, and citizens that have been taken & indefinatly imprisoned without warrant, without charges. So we have to afford it to all - that ensures it will be given to us.

Comment by Debbie Myers on October 2, 2011 at 8:13pm

Our military is weaker & the US is not more secure. Our military is spread all over the globe and our boarders are open. He speaks for the military and I have heard returning vets telling different stories. When we turn our heads to torture...how are we more just? If the lives of our young warriors are held in such high regard - why aren't they coming home from these illegal wars? After cuts to veteran benefits show we are not taking care of them...and our propose should not be to police the world.

Comment by Doug Kolonia on October 2, 2011 at 10:09pm

I agree that our military should not be used to police the world but I also know the best defense is a strong offense and I would prefer to fight the Terrorists 'over there' than here in our streets. Putting whether you agree with Iraq and Afghanistan aside our military is in fact stronger and more capable now than it was before. No training can ever simulate what our military has experienced in Iraq and Afghanistan and those experiences have given us a much stronger and much more capable force. You forge steel with fire.

The lives lost is very sad. But we are there now and the sacrifice has been made so as long as we need oil we should retain bases in those countries so we can protect our oil interests. We should also have the Iraqis pay us back all that we have spent to liberate them from their oil revenues before we leave.

Comment by Deb Sefton on October 3, 2011 at 12:23pm

The piece of levity I found in this vid is EPIC.
His sheer bafoonery at the 35 second mark boggles the mind.
He pays no attention to what he's saying. Be quick, I gots golf!
This president cannot survive without a TelePrompTer. That is
Downright frightening. =(

Comment by Debbie Myers on October 3, 2011 at 12:36pm

We ARE fighting in our streets, as the civil unrest is escalating - but instead of terrorists, we are fighting US citizens who are losing everything to banks & corporations who are raking in the handsome profits through fraud & deceit. And yes, some of those corporations are profiting from the loss of our soldiers (war), ie, Haliburton, KBR, etc. As of June the total cost of these "wars" was estimated at between 3.7 trillion & could reach 4.4 trillon before the end of this year. Bring our military home & put them on our boarders, stop the influx of immigration as it is today - because basically, if you have the time & money, you can come to the US legally. I have seen first hand, the process for legal entry. 

All of my sons served, one was medically retired & my daughter in law was lost. Sure, I have the flag that draped her coffin, but do you think that really comforts my family - sad does not decribe it. Do you really believe that I feel better because we protected our oil interests? Why not strip the government regulations & allow free market to get out the alternatives to oil, which do exist.

How are we stronger today? Our troops are all over the world & "our door is unlocked". If terrorists wanted to get in, all they have to do is walk over the boarder. Let's forge our steel here at home, we have plenty of fire.

Now, I have 3 grandbabies leaving between December & March. I will continue to fight for peace and the return of our troops to US soil. I think that Vietman should have taught us something. The illegal wars today are more of the same; lies, deceit, profits for a few, and saving face.

As far as Iraq giving us anything - they are going to take possession of most of the equipment the US is leaving behind & we don't even know who's going to benefit from that. They leave & the base is stripped. The interest of American people have not been served, it has been the interest of politians & corporations that have dictated most of what we face today. History repeats itself and it seems we have not learned a thing.

 

Comment by Debbie Myers on October 3, 2011 at 12:54pm

A Sep 11 2011

By Deborah White, About.com Guide

For your quick reading, I've listed key statistics about the Iraq War and occupation, taken primarily from data analyzed by various think tanks, including The Brookings Institution's Iraq Index, and from mainstream media sources. Data is presented as of August 30, 2011, except as indicated.
U.S. SPENDING IN IRAQ

Spent & Approved War-Spending - About $900 billion of US taxpayers' funds spent or approved for spending through November 2010.

Lost & Unaccounted for in Iraq - $9 billion of US taxpayers' money and $549.7 milion in spare parts shipped in 2004 to US contractors. Also, per ABC News, 190,000 guns, including 110,000 AK-47 rifles.

Lost and Reported Stolen - $6.6 billion of U.S. taxpayers' money earmarked for Iraq reconstruction, reported on June 14, 2011 by Special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction Stuart Bowen who called it "the largest theft of funds in national history." (Source - CBS News) Last known holder of the $6.6 billion lost: the U.S. government.

Missing - $1 billion in tractor trailers, tank recovery vehicles, machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and other equipment and services provided to the Iraqi security forces. (Per CBS News on Dec 6, 2007.)

Mismanaged & Wasted in Iraq - $10 billion, per Feb 2007 Congressional hearings

Halliburton Overcharges Classified by the Pentagon as Unreasonable and Unsupported - $1.4 billion

Amount paid to KBR, a former Halliburton division, to supply U.S. military in Iraq with food, fuel, housing and other items - $20 billion

Portion of the $20 billion paid to KBR that Pentagon auditors deem "questionable or supportable" - $3.2 billion

U.S. Annual Air-Conditioning Cost in Iraq and Afghanistan - $20.2 billion (Source - NPR, June 25, 2011)

U.S. 2009 Monthly Spending in Iraq - $7.3 billion as of Oct 2009

U.S. 2008 Monthly Spending in Iraq - $12 billion

U.S. Spending per Second - $5,000 in 2008 (per Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on May 5, 2008)

Cost of deploying one U.S. soldier for one year in Iraq - $390,000

TROOPS IN IRAQ

Troops in Iraq - Total 44,000 U.S. troops as of June 30, 2011. All other nations have withdrawn their troops.

U.S. Troop Casualties - 4,477 US troops; 98% male. 91% non-officers; 82% active duty, 11% National Guard; 74% Caucasian, 9% African-American, 11% Latino. 19% killed by non-hostile causes. 54% of US casualties were under 25 years old. 72% were from the US Army

Non-U.S. Troop Casualties - Total 316, with 179 from the UK

US Troops Wounded - 32,175 as of June 30, 2011, 20% of which are serious brain or spinal injuries. (Total excludes psychological injuries.)

US Troops with Serious Mental Health Problems - 30% of US troops develop serious mental health problems within 3 to 4 months of returning home

US Military Helicopters Downed in Iraq - 75 total, at least 36 by enemy fire

IRAQI TROOPS, CIVILIANS & OTHERS IN IRAQ

Private Contractors in Iraq, Working in Support of US Army Troops - More than 180,000 in August 2007, per TheNation.com..

Journalists killed - 149, 97 by murder and 52 by acts of war

Journalists killed by US Forces - 14

Iraqi Police and Soldiers Killed - 10,125

Iraqi Civilians Killed, Estimated - On October 22, 2010, ABC News reported "a secret U.S. government tally that puts the Iraqi (civilian) death toll over 100,000," information that was included in more than 400,000 military documents released by Wikileaks.com.

A UN issued report dated Sept 20, 2006 stating that Iraqi civilian casualties have been

Comment by Debbie Myers on October 3, 2011 at 12:57pm

estimated at over 600,000.

Iraqi Insurgents Killed, Roughly Estimated - 55,000

Non-Iraqi Contractors and Civilian Workers Killed - 572

Non-Iraqi Kidnapped - 306, including 57 killed, 147 released, 4 escaped, 6 rescued and 89 status unknown.

Daily Insurgent Attacks, Feb 2004 - 14

Daily Insurgent Attacks, July 2005 - 70

Daily Insurgent Attacks, May 2007 - 163

Estimated Insurgency Strength, Nov 2003 - 15,000

Estimated Insurgency Strength, Oct 2006 - 20,000 - 30,000

Estimated Insurgency Strength, June 2007 - 70,000

QUALITY OF LIFE INDICATORS

Iraqis Displaced Inside Iraq, by Iraq War, as of May 2007 - 2,255,000

Iraqi Refugees in Syria & Jordan - 2.1 million to 2.25 million

Iraqi Unemployment Rate - 27 to 60%, where curfew not in effect

Consumer Price Inflation in 2006 - 50%

Iraqi Children Suffering from Chronic Malnutrition - 28% in June 2007 (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)

Percent of professionals who have left Iraq since 2003 - 40%

Iraqi Physicians Before 2003 Invasion - 34,000

Iraqi Physicians Who Have Left Iraq Since 2005 Invasion - 12,000

Iraqi Physicians Murdered Since 2003 Invasion - 2,000

Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 1 to 2 hours, per Ryan Crocker, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (Per Los Angeles Times, July 27, 2007)

Average Daily Hours Iraqi Homes Have Electricity - 10.9 in May 2007

Average Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 5.6 in May 2007

Pre-War Daily Hours Baghdad Homes Have Electricity - 16 to 24

Number of Iraqi Homes Connected to Sewer Systems - 37%

Iraqis without access to adequate water supplies - 70% (Per CNN.com, July 30, 2007)

Water Treatment Plants Rehabilitated - 22%

RESULTS OF POLL Taken in Iraq in August 2005 by the British Ministry of Defense (Source: Brookings Institute)

Iraqis "strongly opposed to presence of coalition troops - 82%

Iraqis who believe Coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security - less than 1%

Iraqis who feel less ecure because of the occupation - 67%

Iraqis who do not have confidence in multi-national forces - 72%

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