Half a Trillion and Counting
March 23, 2007, 3:25 pm
Posted by Eduardo Peñalver
According to Newsweek:
$351 billion has been spent or appropriated between 2003 and 2007 [for the war in Iraq], and
the president’s additional budget request of $68 billion in 2007 will
bring that to $419 billion, if it passes, according to estimates by the
Congressional Budget Office (these figures include U.S. military
expenditures, expenditures for Iraqi security forces, and spending for
foreign aid and diplomatic operations in Iraq). With another $113
billion predicted for the 2008 budget, the total direct cost of the war
will by then top half a trillion dollars, $532 billion in all. That
naturally does not even begin to take into account indirect costs, from
veterans’ care to oil-price rises.
Bush now stands practically alone in defending this war. The problem is how to get out of it.
But many religious leaders, both Catholic and Protestants gave their imprimatur on this preemptive war. They are pretty quiet now.
Bernard of Clairvoux who seems to have give the largerst contribution to the literature of just war, found himself similarly embarassed as the Crusaders were defeated. Meanwhile, people’s lives were disrupted everywhere as the armies marched through bringing extenuating horrors.
Thankfully, Rome was against this war from the beginning. And all those champions of the magisterium found a way to minimize its influence.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Finally, the press is letting people see.
Just remember, your kids and their kids will be paying for this into the next century.
But, heck, no price too small to “protect our security” and “support the troops,” right?
Let’s face it, this country re-elected this idiot for a second term, so we are now sewing what was reaped through lethargy, having a mercenary army, and tax decreases for the few.
Shame, shame, shame on all of us!
Bill:
You said,
“And all those champions of the magisterium found a way to minimize its influence.”
That’s true, and the reason is that no sanctions were defined for Catholics who disagreed, as for instance,
“Formal cooperation in the war against Iraq constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against the Iraqi people.”
But the Church has not done this. Why? Why, if the Iraq war is so gravely immoral did the Church not at least say, for example,
“Any Catholic serviceman or servicewoman who materially participates in this war is guilty of a gravely sinful act, and any Catholic who signficantly contributes to the war effort is likewise guilty.”
Either the Iraq war is a gravely serious moral issue or it is not. The fact is, as far as I can determine, that Rome said nothing even close to that. Why? Since it said nothing about participation in the war as being even mildly sinful, the Faithful can only conclude…what?
And I am not just asking rhetorical questions to rile the good readers of Commonweal. I have in fact been dreading hearing Rome say something like I have indicated above, because I, a war hawk of the first magnitude, would then be subjected to a very real and nasty crisis of conscience: Either I follow my conscience on the Iraq war and the war on terror, or I bow to the will of Rome and make an act of obedience to the Holy Father. I would, of course, do the latter, but honestly I would be shattered. But that’s life.
I honestly don’t get it.
I gotta stop drinking that cheap boxed wine while i read this blogsite.
I obviously got my “sewing” and “reaping” bassackwards.
Bob,
I think you’re right. If the Church opposed or opposes the war, one would hardly know it. No war hawk myself, I wish there had actually been some sustained vocal opposition the hierarchy. But it just wasn’t there. If I recall correctly, one eastern-rite bishop came out strongly against it.
Will they be against a war with Iran based on some bogus provocation? How about bunker-busters and the new nuclear warheads? Ho-hum. (If only Ron Howard could make a dumb movie on the subject…)
Bob wrote:
“But many religious leaders, both Catholic and Protestants gave their imprimatur on this preemptive war. ”
There is no evidence of this for Catholics. The only Catholics I saw defending the war publicly where laymen in the thrall of secular ideology (Novak and Weigel), and their clerical supporters (Neuhaus). Despite the noise they create, this is a very small movement. I don’t recall a single bishop condoning this war, not even Bernard Law, who was close to Daddy Bush and gave tacit approval to the first Iraq war. Cardinal Ratzinger stated bluntly that the doctrine of preventive war was not in the Catechism, and we all know where John Paul stood.
If anything, Catholic bishops and priests are guilty of not preaching against the war enough. But this was a delicate situation in the despicable nationalistic militarism that prevailed in the early stages of the war. I know of one priest who was threatened and called all kinds of names for simply talking about John Paul’s opposition from the pulpit. But many priests chose the path of least resistence, which was often cowardice. We still see this today. Even though the Church’s teaching on torture is far more unambiguous that on the war (where at least the just war principles provide some flexibility, in theory at least), how many times have we heard homilies denounce the US practice of torture?I think this silence is pretty shameful.
Morning’s Minion:
Fair enough, but no one has addressed my main question: Why was there no unambiguous statement of sanctions adressed to Catholics actively participating in the war? A straightforward statement by either Pope, clearly and publicly enunciated, with instructions to all dioceses worldwide would have done it. One can only conclude that this was no fluke, and that the Church was pulling its punches. But why?
“I think this silence is shameful.”
This is the point, is it not? Thunderous noise for pro-life. Silence against torture and the war. If most Catholics were against the war one could hardly notice it. So the Neuhaus fringe prevails? At any rate the latter is profoundly silent today.
The Editors
“Almost nothing the Bush administration does works and almost nothing it says adds up.”
In verita. How is it that such a bunch of bunglers got to lead this country? It is audacity of a special kind and hubris at its worst.
Chaos , continues, that is, it has been going on for a long time and these clowns still say the same things.