A Game of Tyrants & Demagogues

Or as H. L. Mencken is quoted as having said: “If they say it isn’t about money, it’s about money.”

But this is not just about money. No, this is also about loss of life, lives and money lost without any lasting measure of success for mankind. This is about the total cost of wars, which are often misnamed as police actions or other less brutal occurrences which tyrants and demagogues bestow on other peoples’ children.

Neta Crawford of Boston University, co-founder of the Cost of Wars Project, spells it out in her article in Nation Magazine, September 20, 2021: “20 Years of Bloodshed and Delusion – The Numbers.”

“Over the last 20 years the US military has spent or requested about 8.8 trillion dollars.” Future medical and disability payments will likely exceed an additional 2.2 trillion dollars.” She tells us that there were 7,052 service members killed.

There is unnecessary secrecy, voice are ignored, derided, or silenced as we rally around the flag and worship our generals. Like a friend of mine in the military years said about sergeants: “these guys pray for war.

The Costs of War Project publishes this information to promote transparency about warfare.

This study and publication cites statistics that are troubling and a sad commentary on the lack of accomplishments from the cost of money and lives in these conflicts. The death toll of warfare in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and others for the US military is more than 7,000, US contractors more than 8,000, other allied troops more than 14,000, civilians more than 300,000, opposition forces more than 300,000, total death toll from these war zones 900,000 or more.

The Price of War for post 9/11, 2001-2022 is quoted as:

DOD Overseas Operations – $2 trillion                                             Homeland Security – $1 trillion                                                                      Future Obligations including veterans care – $2 trillion plus         Interest Payments on War Spending $1 trillion plus                           Other Pentagon expenses $1 trillion plus

If they say it isn’t about money, it’s about money. And it’s about what better choices could be made for the use of 8 trillion dollars – particularly for protecting the planet from demise due to warfare, as above delineated, and all other abuses that endanger future human habitation hereon.

This kind of reminds us of what the conservative Senator Everett Dirksen was quoted as having said many years ago; ” A billion here and a billion there, the first thing you know you are talking about real money.”