Ladies and Gentlemen,


While you have all done your very best to belittle, insult and degrade Bryan, at times comparing him to me and at other times simply inferring that he is misguilded and closed minded. You have made the case that it is you who are closed minded and misguilded. While I am sure Bryan is working on his own responce to all of you, I would like to enter into the fray with a few thoughts of my own as I have a tendency to do from time to time.

Akmans comment: "Where did you ever find your $160 billion cost estimate of the Iraq War? It's laughable! The current cost is at $400 billion and counting!"

The CBO has placed the current cost of the war at $192 billion dollars.
Overall, Congress has approved about $192 billion for the Iraq war itself, according to an analysis by the Congressional Research Service. Another $58 billion has been allocated for Afghanistan, and some $20 billion has gone for enhanced air security and other Pentagon preparedness measures in the US. Total defense spending in 2006 will probably be around 4 percent of gross national product, notes Mr. Cordesman. The average since 1992 for this measure has been 3.6 percent. These are the moneys at play right now, approved by congress and actually being spent. That comes out to a little over $5 billion per month which is lower than the CBO's initial cost estimate of $6-9 billion per month.
Consider this cost against the CBO's report on containment of Iraq. It would have topped $430 billion dollars for 5 years. That's $7.6 billion per month.

Seems to me $160 billion is much closer to $192 billion than it is to $400 billion and counting. Akman's information is found to be false not by me, but the CBO.

June shot off with the following: That the "new" Iraq government will have little parliamentary difficulty adopting a Shi'a-inspired constitution, if it can stay in power,
That the current political situation in Iraq is open warfare between Iraqis,
That, after fours years of US assistance, Iraqis enjoy less electricity, less potable water, a good deal more untreated sewage and a poorer quality life than under Hussein?

Well June, the story is much bigger than you narrow minded veiw of it. "This country experienced 35 years of neglect under Saddam Hussein," Bostick said. Power plants, for example, have old equipment. He said when workers open up a generator or a turbine, they often find they have to do "wholesale rebuild of those items or replace them completely. So the cost is much higher than initially estimated."
He cited experiences at a power plant in the north. The initial assessment at the power plant pegged the cost of reconstruction at about $30 million. The initial estimates weren't as good as they could have been because of insurgent activity in the region. "As the security situation improved and more assessments (were) accomplished, the cost nearly doubled to $57 million," Bostick said. "We added the security costs, and that put the price up to about $68 million. There are many examples like that around the country."
But reconstruction has hit hyperdrive. When the Iraqis assumed sovereignty in June 2004, there were about 200 projects actually turning dirt. "Today there are more than 2,400, and more than 1,000 have been completed," the general said. So June's information though accruate, is misleading at best. Yes they have had some reductions in power, water and sewage, but not because of Americans, because of their leadership prior to the invasion.

Phaedrus said: "Also, the UN oil for food program- put in place by Pres Bush I, administered by the US, and the auditors were all appointed by the Bush I."

$9.978 Billion Transferred to Development Fund for Iraq: from the offical UN website.
Transfers of $1 billion each were made on 28 May, 31 October and 18 November 2003 from the United Nations Iraq escrow account, at the request of the Security Council contained in paragraph 17 of resolution 1483 (2003) of 22 May 2003. Another $2.6 billion was transferred on 31 December 2003, a further $2 billion on 31 March and $0.5 billion on 19 April 2004. Three more transfers, totalling $1.128 billion, were made in 2004 and three transfers totalling $0.75 billion have been made in 2005.

New York times: "Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday that he took personal responsibility for the management failures highlighted in a damning new report on the oil-for-food program, and he urged adoption of fundamental changes in the way the United Nations is run."
Still looking for Bushes Cronies in this article, but no luck. Matter of fact, the Post, Times , USA Today, WSJ, none of them mentioned any cronies. Looks like the UN ran this one into the dirt.


Maggie asked of Akman: And Akman, why would you advocate using NATO, SEATO, the UN to form a universal coalition to gang up on the terrorists? Why would you want to appeal to every country in the world to work together, with the US, to bring terrorism to heel within their jurisdictions -- what would that do to our role as the only remaining Super Power? Maggie, you are the most simplemended one of the bunch, but at least you keep it short. This is what we did for 25 years. We repeatedly asked all of the nations of the world, since Jimmy Carter to run under these very ideals, problem is, most did not. As the leader of the world and the "Super Power"  we have a few obligations, not unlike the Pro Basketballl player who says he is not a role model, we have to do some things we may not like. One of those things is show the world how to lead, how to be powerful, how to use what you have for the right of all man kind, not just our own people.


Fianlly we have Capitan Marvel's comments: Bryan, have you seen today's headlines or the sidebar, "Fierce sectarian violence erupted anew Saturday despite an extraordinary daytime curfew, killing at least 20 people in a car bombing attack on a Shiite holy city, a raid on a Shiite home and a brazen attack on the funeral procession of an Iraqi television journalist in Baghdad."

Imagine how much worse the fighting would be if we were not there to play the role of referee. These guys would be back to the old days of rape rooms and beheadings. This time it is internal. that's better than outside forces, we can get a handle on this one even quicker.

Remember we did not start this fight, let me help you here, Iran Hostage Crisis, Acheili Laurel, USS Kole, Beruit, 9/11, US Embassy Bombings in Africa, the list goes on and on and on. These are the people we are up against, regardless of country, flag, religion, skin color (which I still am amazed someone brought that up) these people want you dead. Not hurt, not out of power, not sidelined, but DEAD.

But what would I know, I'm just an Average American.