Actually I kind of regret how strongly I pushed the point. I didn't mean to come across as so crass as to put a pricetag on freedom. My point had more to do with how we never considered alternatives to war that might have achieved the same end with far less bloodshed and far less resources poured down the rathole. If a $trillion is "inane", even $200 billion could have worked miracles transforming Iraq if we hadn't first bombed the crap out of it and instead used the money for positive improvements.
There's a precedent for removing a dictator through exile rather than invasion, e.g. Idi Amin. A combination of carrot and stick might have done the trick with Saddam: "You're encircled by our forces and we'll kick your ass if you don't take this suitcase of cash and leave now." While the head of a kleptocracy might rant on about his duty to his beloved country, the fact that he's a kleptocrat tells you he has a price.
Current Events » in reply to Price of freedom for an Iraqi: $40,000.
re: Price of freedom for an Iraqi: $40,000.
The whole thread (43 posts)
- The $200 million a day war
- Per-square-kilometer, per-capita
- A trillion dollars buys a lot of altenative energy research.
- Alternately,
- Leftist economics is so one-sided.
- Per-square-kilometer, per-capita