Ch. I through IV of The Trillion Dollar War

The Three Trillion Dollar War 
1. US invasion of Iraq-terrible mistake
a. 4,000 troops dead
b. 58,00 wounded
c. 7,300 wounded in Iraq
d. 100,000: with serious mental health disorders
e. life is worse for Iraqis than under Hussein 
f. roads, schools, hospitals, homes, museums-destroyed
g. citizens have LESS access to electricity and water
h. trillions added to the national debt
i. drove up oil prices
j. war weakened our economy
k. decision to go to war based on a false premise 
l. toll on our fighting men & women
m. Saudia Arabia & Kuwait paid for the 1st Gulf War
n. 200,000 veterans of the Gulf War, spent $50B in GulfWar disability benefits
o. “going to war is a big business,”(xi)
p. extremely shoddy government accounting
q. men were sent into battle without proper body armor and had to sift through dumps 
r. “Our resources are not infinite.”(xiii)
s. moral duty for governments to provide adequate health care & disability payments for those who risk their lives for their country
t. shoddy outpatient facilities, endless red tape, long delays in getting financial compensation
u. “What is, to use the economist’s jargon, the opportunity cost?”(xv)
v. 3T, 50 years of Social Security
w. 1T= 8M houses, 15M high school teachers, 120M in Head Start, 530M children could have healthcare, 43M 4-year scholarships
y. investments in education, technology & research > stronger position to meet future challenge:s: clean energy, 
z. 2T, 33 years worth of aid to developing countries

1. 8B to end illiteracy, 2 weeks of fighting the war
2. $18.4B in reconstruction funds went to military activities
3. middle class families could have gotten healthcare or tax cuts
4. we are less secure, less prosperous, & less prepared to face future threats
5. awful quality of life in Iraq
6. high unemployment
7. mass exodus from the country
8. huge #s displaced
9. collapse of the middle class
10. soaring violence
11. winners: America’s oil & defense industries
12. role for government and for markets
13. no link between al Qaeda and Iraq
14. information obtained through the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA)
Ch. 1 Is It Really Three Trillion?
a. 2003, invasion of Iraq
b. “Mission Accomplished banner” 
c. wanted a democratic Middle East, peace between Israel&Palestine
d. us-greatest threat to global peace
e. a lot of refuges (p.5)
f. Iraq’s middle class-destroyed!
g. more expensive than Vietnam, 2x the cost of the Korean war
h. 10x as much as 1st Gulf War, 1/3 more than Vietnam, 2x the cost of WWI, WWI WAS more expensive
i. taxes on the rich have fallen
j. NEC said $200B for war, Wolfowitz-postwar reconstruction could pay for itself through increased oil revenues
k. American rebuilding of Iraq-1.7B
l. $ for Defense, Foreign Affairs, Veteran’s medical costs
m. without invading Iraq, we could have relied on our standing army
n. cost per troop has increased
o. $27B no-bid contract to Blackwater to guard in Baghdad
p. private security guards, $445K, sergeant, $51K to $69K
q. private contracting firms drive costs up of troops
r. the potential for profiteering & corruption is high (13)
s. overpayments to Halliburton, p. 13
t. “In America, corruption takes on a more nuanced form than it does elsewhere. Payoffs typically do not take the form of direct bribes, but of campaign contributions to both parties.”(15) 
u. Halliburton’s stock, up 229% since the war began
v. General Dynamic (134%), Raytheon (117%), Lockheed Martin (105%), Northrop Grumman (78%)
w. $25 > $100 per barrel of oil, 2nd reason war costs so much
y. 3rd, “reset” of equipment & weaponry
z. 5 years of fighting, 19,000 dead Iraqi insurgents, more insurgents than at the outset, more enemies of the US throughout the Middle East

Costs Not Counted
1. life, worth $7M, lives are $500K with the military
2. 4,000 dead, $28B worth of productive capacity lost
3. wounded, injured soldiers: 2x the amount
4. disability pay, family stress, broken marriages, 
5. 20% of active members needed mental health treatment, 40% of reserves needed it

A Faulty System of Accounting, p. 18
1. cash accounting, neglects future obligations
2. accrual accounting, used by a grocery store
3. $500B a year to Department of Defense, where does that $ go?
4. fastest increase in military spending in 40 years
5. state governments have to pay for veteran healthcare
6. use of emergency funds makes a mockery of the budgetary process
7. difficult to understand what the war was actually costing
8. more than $3T cost, conservative assumptions
a. long term liabilities must be considered
9. equipment is worn out or destroyed
10. Social Security disability, subsidized loans, etc. are part of the equation
11. soaring energy costs
12. weaker economy
13. lower tax revenues
14. less than 8% of the budget was interest-Clinton, now more than 10% of the budget will be interest
15. social & economic costs
16. diverted gov. expenditures from schools, roads, research, and other areas that would be good for the short & long term health of the economy
17. only includes cost to the USA, not the world (3T figure)

Ch.2 The Costs To The Nation’s Budget
a. upfront appropriated cost, over $200B
b. combat operations, transporting troops, deploying, feeding, supplies, training of Iraqi forces, purchasing & repairing weapons, munitions, supplementary combat pay, providing medical care to troops on active duty and returning veterans, reconstruction, payments to Jordan, Pakistan, Turkey
c. $645B, 3/4 for Iraq, 10x the Bush Administration’s early estimates
d. $138 a month per American, $100 going to Iraq
e. high costs of medical care & disability
f. support troops are in danger
g. 37% of soldiers from Iraq & Afghanistan has sought medical treatment
h. 48% of veterans will seek treatment by the VA
i. $388B for disability compensation
j.6-10x, wearing out equipment, faster than normal
k. deferring the maintenance of equipment and the replacement of equipment until after the Iraq war is bad policy, (p.44)
l. regular salaries out of regular defense, the rest come out of supplemental appropriations
m. 3% of GDP to 4.2% in 2008 
n. Pentagon’s budget has increased by more than $500B
o. misleading, deficient, an inadequate accounting @ the Pentagon, 46
p. Pentagon’s base costs are much higher-intelligence funding, recruiting, and compensation
q.2006, more convict felons could join the army
r. more “category 4” lowest aptitude score troops
s. applications to West Point & the US Naval Academy, 10-20% less than their prewar levels
t. experienced troops, $150K for re-enlistment
u. wants to recruit 92,000 new troops by 2012
v. overall lack of planning
Costs To Other Branches Of Government
a. Department of Labor (insurance & worker’s compensation), HUD, Dept. Agriculture, Dept. Small Business-saddled with costs
b. disability for US contractors is extremely expensive
c. $10K to $21K to insure a private security guard making $100K
d. contractors-high rates of death & injury in Iraq
e. veterans will have low incomes, will qualify for a lot of social services
f. the cost of energy has increased
g. other gov. agencies will have increased energy costs as well

Cost of Borrowing & Paying Interest on the Debt
a. no new taxes for high income individuals
b. 1) interest we have paid on money we already borrowed, what we still owe on what we borrowed, 3) what we will have to pay to borrow for future war operations
c. “There are no free wars”(55)
d. extra costs could increase total cost 50% or more

Ch. 3, The True Cost Of Caring For Our Veterans
a. many troops have had to serve longer than original commitment
b. Pentagon labels injuries as non-combat related
c. 1/3 of those deployed to Iraq war have been deployed 2 or more times & many have served in both Iraq & Afghanistan
d. 90% of medical costs incurred-can be attributed to Iraq
e. 100,000 soldiers treated for mental health
f. 52,000 have Post-traumatic-stress-disorder (PTSD)
g. 185,000 have sought counseling & readjustment services
h. 1/4 veterans applied for compensation for 8 disabling medical conditions
i. Traumatic Brain Injuries from explosive devices, more of these troops can be saved
j. 1/4 of soldiers with blast related injuries die
k. Veteran’s Benefits Administration & Veteran’s Health Administration
l. 23 pages of paperwork for medical validation vs. accepting veteran’s claims prima facie.
m. the government often with-holds veteran’s compensation
n. 2005, $34.5B a year in disability/veteran’s compensation
o. medical evaluation board > physical evaluation board
p. 12% of disability office claims-inaccurate
q. private health care, claims processed in 60 days versus 6 month’s backlog for VA
r. poor paperwork by VA
s. Pentagon’s poor accounting system
t. soldiers can be billed for equipment if it is lost
u. $4.3B annually to veterans of the Gulf War
v. $299B to $372B in disability benefits
w. the VA is vastly understaffed & they take a long time to train
y. Congress will move free care from 2 years to 5 years, probably...
z. VA-good for training medical students, good care for rehabilitation

Medical Care For Veterans
1. above a certain income level & not disabled, rationed out
2. post-traumatic stress disorder, acute depression, substance abuse
3. traumatic brain injury, PTSD, amputations, spinal cord injuries
4. PTSD, unemployable
5. mental health & substance abuse care-high priorities
6. emergency funding requested, for long term veteran’s care
7. high risk of unemployment, homelessness, family violence, crime, alcoholism, drug abuse. 
8. local & state governments have to bear burden of troop’s needs
9. veteran’s need government health care
10. substantial administrative costs for VA staff
11. the economic and social costs > budgetary costs faced by the federal government

Ch. 4 Costs Of War That The Government Doesn’t Pay
a. $1.7T to $2.7T in total costs
b. social costs are staggering
c. 1) loss of productive capacity + other hidden costs to the war
d. substantial costs: cost to veterans, families, communities 

The Economic Value & Loss Of Life
a. compensation for bodily loss in private industry can be very high
b. total soldier’s compensation: $500,000 in compensation, private comp. has been $8.5M plus
c. $4M in care for brain trauma, get $60,000 in veteran’s and Social Security, doesn’t cover it
d. someone killed in an environmental disaster, life is valued at $7.2M
e. value 4000 soldiers & 28M 
f. contractors, $50B

The Economic Cost of the Seriously Injured

& The Economic Cost of Mental Health Disability
a. 1/7 returning VA Veterans has a mental health issue
b. longer deployments, greater risk of mental health problems
c. PTSD patients suffered diminished well-being, physical limitations, compromised health status, permanent unemployment, days spent in bed, and episodes of violence
d. mental health disorders > poor physical health
e. large strain on veteran’s families
f. families have to give up their jobs to take care of the veteran’s
g. heavy financial burden on families with low incomes
h. family pays cost of care until extensive documentation secures government reimbursement
i. value of life: $7.2M, $500,000 for each soldier killed, 
j. National Guard: undersupplied
k. slow response time for National Guard
l. troops paid less than when in private employment, deployment implies wage reductions
m. members of the Army National Guard & Reserves may have to wait for their disability benefits to come through
n. National Guard normally functions as an insurance policy
o. weapons of mass destruction did not exist in Iraq!
p. we struck Iraq preemptively, strategic geopolitical position
q. “This war has not been good for the American economy or for the world economy, and we are likely to feel the ramifications for years to come.”(113)