3 Trillion Dollars Spent On War

Wow....too bad our government doesn't listen to you! Sadly most people don't even think about what you have written because they are so 'seduced' by the 'gut' talk of people like Bush. What I mean is that he talks to their emotions and gets people all lined up to pray, be righteous and condemn others and they forget all about the fact that our country is wasting a ton of money that could be used to make us stronger, healthier and happier.

i was upset and i had a little drink...when i wrote that i hope i didn't offend you or the american people...

none of us have the power to stop these madmen and i just feel so frustrated for all the ones who are affected by these profiteers and the privatisation of war...

i have been doing some research into the companies that are making billions out of this war....
Haliburton has been the biggest profiteer...the co run by **** cheney before he become vice president and is closely connected to the bush administration...it is a subsidary co of KBR-kellog brown root......
the bush admistration is also connected to the huge motor conglomerates and oil co's......
the bush admin and other money-men are filling their own coffers with the countries wealth...
they are riding high on the broken backs and the blood of the american and iraqi people...
there are conflicting reports on how many iraqi civillians have been violently killed the media reports 100,000 but a chinese report i read today from the United Nations claims it has exceeded a million that is 450 iraqis killed every day...99% are civillians...this to me sounds like a holocaust...and genocide
4,000 american troops have been killed thats about 2 a day...there are 30,000 wounded troops...thats 15 troops a day injured...
it is so bad and we can't seem to stop it

You did not offend me. I used to be as ignorant about this as most people unfortunately. I started reading Noan Chompsky. He really opened my eyes to many realities and debates. What you spoke about is not new to me, just a sad reminder of the reality of things. I hate the bureaucracy of it all. It is such a far stretch from what people are led to believe. And it is enough to make you drink for sure!! :)

jinda - I think that words have a meaning, and over using them makes them somewhat loose their strength... rwanda was a genocide (100 days and between 0.5M and 1M), nazi germany conducted a genocide against the jews of europe. what you refer to is of a different magnitude, although it is definitely also an outrage.

As for numbers... the problem with numbers is that you can make them say what you want, and many people do not have much sense of them, so it is even easier. By all measures of war, the ones you quote are insignificant.. think about the fact that in a single battle, Alexander or Napoleon could loose 10,000 troupes. You can also look closer into the history of america itself to see what happened during the civil war. Look at yesterday: at Hiroshima and Nagasaki America killed 80,000 and 140,000 people in under 10 minutes.

I think that part of the problem is that america has it so easy that people think a war should be conducted without casualties. I think the media is partly responsible for romanticizing conflicts. Wars are a nasty.. and the word does not begin to describe the reality. so numbers are not the way to measure the outrage. the fact that there has not been any hostilities on american soil during WWII has created a generation of people who only know of atrocities through the lenses of CNN... a sure recipe for conceit if you ask me.

"Look at yesterday: at Hiroshima and Nagasaki America killed 80,000 and 140,000 people in under 10 minutes"

Don't be silly. Those weren't people. They were ants.

If you ask an average American how many people died in Vietnam, they'll say 60,000. The real answer is ~3 million. It's disgusting.

I think we have to try to stop the war. The weapons being used are poisoning the planet for hundreds of years. When the marches started against Vietnam, there was a strong hold of power-war mongers, and still eventually it stopped. Don't give up hope. Look for ways to help. If we look, I believe we will find.

kc thanks for your inspiring words of hope....i wrote that a year ago and there is more hope now that bush has gone....the american people have had enough
they wonder where all the countries wealth has gone....spent on war...and the weapons...gosh they will kill us all

It's easy to say the words "I hate war" but I think repeating the numbers killed and the dollars wasted are important because they are very concrete measures of waste.
It's nicer for me knowing there are people like all of you in the world, please join with me and keep speaking the truth (which means checking our facts as carefully as possible!) to power, even though people aren't going to want to hear it.
Peace to all,
GA.

hey goldenarrow.....i think things may slowly improve with obama...he seems to have a heart and wants peace....he is withdrawing the troops from iraq but is going to deploy more to afghanistan...i just don't get that....and KRudd (our prime minister) will follow what ever the US does
i just don't know how those fellas in the middle eastern homelands live through the horror of it all......
the american people know what its like to be attacked ...9/11....and that was just one day......the muslim people and thier homes and cities are bombed everyday.....everyday for the last 8 years....this thought drives me insane ...what is it doing to the people
peace to you to GA

Yes, jinda, I have been very pleasantly surprised by how much the new administration has been able to do in the US. Conversely, I have been disappointed with K-Rudd this far. Given the huge change of direction by the new US administration, there is license for an equally big change from Aus, but he seems more of a follower than a leader.