The High Cost of Killing
Comments: 11
War is now a U.S. franchise, and for the coalition of the willing, it’s time to settle some bills.
US bills Australia for bombs
Mark Dunn, new.com.auAUSTRALIA is to be billed several million dollars by the United States for bombs dropped on Iraq.
Weeks after George W. Bush’s public thank you to John Howard, the bills are due to arrive – including the cost of US food eaten by some Diggers.
[…]
The Australian Defence Force is now being asked to share the costs for its part in toppling Saddam Hussein under the “user-pays” principle of modern warfare.
The “‘user-pays’ principle of modern warfare.” Priceless.
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Posted to General Rants • 2003.05.28 (Wed) • 21:38
Comments
Posted by eff 2003.05.29, 06:57
unfortunately, i’m quite certain that mr. howard won’t mind that bill too much since he can be sure that a few “breadcrumb” contracts for the reconstruction of the iraqi infrastructure will go to australian companies … what is also priceless to me is that the iraqi people and the tax payers (here the australian citizens) will ultimately get stuck with the check.
Posted by S. Patrick Eaton 2003.05.29, 09:40
Eff touches on a good point: The pro-war camp would like everyone to believe that the costs of this war will outweigh the benefits of liberating Iraq’s oil supply. (“It just doesn’t make sense to suggest that this war is about oil when the costs of the invasion and occupation will exceed the value of the oil revenues,” the chickenhawks will tell you.)
But the truth is that the costs are being paid by the tax-paying citizens of the coalition countries, while the profits are going to the well connected companies in those same countries. From the corporate point of view, this war is a godsend: No initial investment (paid by taxpayers), marginal risk (mostly absorbed by the armed forces), no competition (no-bid contracts), and virtually guaranteed, government-backed profitability. If I were an oil-services or construction company CEO, I’d be glad to (surreptitiously) support my country’s chickenhawk leadership too!
Woo hoo! Long live the war franchise!
Posted by gomichild 2003.05.29, 10:27
sends a bill to the US Govt. for a course of relaxation therapy for the stress that occured after they used her brother on a Australian Naval Ship for the course of the war
Posted by jh 2003.05.29, 19:10
Patrick —- That’s it in a nutshell. Perfectly summed up. When you also consider that military spending is spread far and wide throughout the states so that it gets built deep into the economic infrastructure, the Cheney doctrine of “endless war” starts to look unassailable.
Posted by kristen 2003.05.29, 20:00
Is Bush’s cabinet comprised of classic SF writers? Or perhaps Mel Brooks… This is really too much like a plot device of some quirky, 2nd rate, political potboiler. Trashy summer reading come to life. Cripes.
Posted by eff 2003.05.29, 21:02
along the same line as jeremy’s original post and the comments above - i myself had never heard of arundhati roy before, but i was quite impressed with a recent speech she gave in nyc.
i don’t agree with every single word and it’s quite a long read but it most certainly is worth a look.
Posted by jh 2003.05.29, 23:23
eff —- Thanks for the link. The “http://” part didn’t make it into the a tag you posted. It’s been fixed.
Roy is terrifyingly spot on in that speech.
Posted by Chris 2003.05.30, 00:27
As many Brits well know, there is nothing new in this.
During the Second World War, America leased their old, rusting fleet to the Allies (especially in the years leading up to American involvement) at quite extortionate rates.
It would have been cheaper to buy these ships, but it wasn’t an option, and many believe the recession that followed the war was exacerbated by the loans and interest that had to be paid to America.
So really, this is probably just common practice.
Posted by james 2003.05.30, 00:30
Meanwhile in the forgotten continent… Congo is fucked. Too bad they don’t have oil or Muslims, the US could invade and rebuild the country into a vibrant democracy like Iraq and Afghanistan.
Posted by tate engstrand 2003.06.02, 05:38
Sweet: political acrobatics.
Australia should send back a letter saying, “We’ll just subtract the amount from your old bills.” Really, my country’s foreign debt is pretty bad. I can’t say how much we owe Australia in particular, but we’ve got enough debt to spread around the world and back.
It’s also nice that the American government is coming up with new reasons to give foreign nations pause before joining the ‘coalition.’
James: Congo has oil, and how. Now, I’m not defending the adminstration’s actions as regards to its Middle East policy, but there is an order to their operations.
Hey, I’ve never posted here before, and already I’ve unloaded a mound of babble. Anyway, I like the site, Jeremy. Very pleasing to the eye.
Posted by S. Patrick Eaton 2003.06.05, 09:41
Ah, this is the news I was waiting for. You see, the war really was about oil—and not much else, apparently.
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