Maybe Cuz He's Not Paying the Price?

John "I'm A Moron" Boehner is quoted on CNN as saying the War in Iraq is small price to pay, if we defeat Al Qaeda. There are so many problems with this this that I don't even know where to start.

Let's start with the big fallacy first. We're not fighting Al Qaeda in Iraq. Oh, yeah, we may be engaging with a 'faction' of Al Qaedi there, but it's not Al Qaeda. If this tiny fragment of insurgents called itself Ford Motor Company, would we be fighting Ford? The best indicators are that AQI is maybe 1% of the total insurgent population, more likely a lot less, so if we're fighting AQI, we're wasting a lot of time fighting other people instead.

Second, I'm sure most of the families of the dead and massively wounded of the Iraq War don't think they've paid a 'small price'.

Third, in a time of major tax cuttery, the war is costing up to $3billion a week. A WEEK! Assuming there are 300million people in the US, that's a a cost of $10/wk per capita. $500 a year. Assuming that 1/3 to 1/2 of the population is actually paying taxes (factoring kids, students, retirees, etc) that works out to $1000-1500 a head each year. But we're not paying it, we're borrowing it. Foisting the cost off on our kids and grandkids (and ourselves in our retirement); regardless of the outcome, we'll be paying for this war for at least another generation (and I'm not talking political or economic costs, just the actual expenditures. Do we hate ourselves and our descendants more than we hate Al Qaeda?

Lastly, probably the most important cost overall, is the cost to the US in reputation and prestige. We are no longer the 'shining city on the hill', we've become the artillery battery from over the hill. Our moral superiority (whether real or imagined, it was always there) is gone. Our ability to influence other nations, short of through intimidation, is pretty well shot. Our ability to use military force, if needed (see previous point), is diminished, since our military is stretched to the breaking point (maybe beyond) in our war against 1% of the insurgents in Iraq.

I won't even get into the absurdity of our many, contradictory and mutually exclusive goals in Iraq. Even if we get what we (say we) want in Iraq, achieving Goal A means can't achieve Goal B, and since we can't achieve Goal B we can acheive Goal C, the achievement of which would preclude Goal D, and on and on and on and on.

John 'Brain Boner' Boehner can proclaim all he want that the war in Iraq is small price to pay. After all, he isn't paying it in a way shape or form.

cross posted at DailyKos