USA Image in Big Trouble

[Merrill]

Overall costs to the USA image is definitely becoming quite expensive. Attacking countries based on lies and assumptions has never been an acceptable practice so far as I know. Certainly worldwide opinion has NOT ever agreed with this approach. This administration has created a hornets nest.

From General Odom:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/09/AR2007020901917.html

http://www.hudson.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=publication_details&id=4410
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Cost in bodies and disabilities:

http://www.iraqbodycount.org/database/

http://www.icasualties.org/oif/

Cost in Dollars:
http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

As for the real costs of the war, they could hardly be clearer. Targeted for cutbacks in federal money are virtually all social programs--Medicare and Medicaid, food stamps, housing, job training and child care, education and student loans, environmental protection, public transportation, science research, even veterans' benefits and school funding for children of military personnel.

Jeffrey Garten, dean of the Yale School of Management and former economic and foreign policy official in the Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Clinton administrations, warns that the increases in spending on war and homeland security are "aggravating an already acute fiscal problem, eroding economic vitality" and creating "the kind of politically paralyzing guns-or-butter debate that characterized the Vietnam era."

Even as Iraq verges on splintering into a sectarian civil war, four big oil companies are on the verge of locking up its massive, profitable reserves, known to everyone in the petroleum industry as "the prize."

http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/43045/?comments=view&cID=257615&pID=2574112003-04/13du_boff.cfm

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Bush Screwing Up War On Terror
http://www.alternet.org/stories/48277/

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[SpiralHawk]

1. "Just so long as it doesn't cut into war profits." - Commander AWOL

"We must keep our cabal of corrpupt republicon corporate cronies happy. As for the rest of the planet, tough noogies."

- Commander AWOL

[ClintonTyree]

2. I thought Karen Hughes was all over that?

She was appointed the U.S. image booster by Bush. Do you mean a Bush appointee actually FAILED in their mission? :wow:

When one actually succeeds THEN I'll be surprised.

[DemoTex]

3. Bingo! My first thought, too.

Karen Hughes, Goodwill Ambassador-at-Large.

[Vidar]

4. Our image as the world's premier bully is intact.

[Merrill]

5. How about our vets?

The fact of the matter disabled veterans would be better off if the USA had a national health insurance plan so many times. Why not pool resources and cut the nonsense?

Bush budget cuts veterans health care in 2009

February 13, 2007

• Bush budget assumes cuts in veterans' health care in 2009, 2010

• VA medical care costs have risen yearly for 20 years

• Number of veterans from Iraq, Afghanistan expected to increase 26 percent

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/13/vets.budget.ap/index.html

We as citizens must demand that medical care for veterans and senior citizens be removed from the political process.

Quality of care for disbled veterans should not depend on which party is holding the reins. VA care as it stands is victim to politics which simply is not fair. Treatment for Agent Orange and Depleted Uranium Weapons exposure should not be determined by the VA secretary under any administration. Care should be rendered immediately instead of Vets finding it necessary to battle for a determination from any current administration.

Veterans should receive the exact same care provided to those who send them off to battle and paid for by the taxpayers. Issue every diasabled veteran a medicare/medicaid/dental card that covers the entire familiy. Treat these veterans with respect as they did not ask to be sent into a dangerous battle zone. Never alter the funding mechanism as all who carry this medicare card somehow paid for this care including senior citizens.

Suggestions:
*Convert all VA Medical Facilities to VA/Medicare facilities to accept all medicare patients.
* would reduce pharmaceutical expenditures
* keep facilities staffed as a normal hospital/walk in medical care facility
* appointments of course would be best
* do not allow any staff member to work more than 10 hours
* re-open all shut down VA medical centers and make wise use of existing resources.
* could reduce the risks of medicare fraud which is huge.
* DisabledVeterans and senior citizens should never be denied excellent medical/dental care for which they have somehow paid for. They SHOULD NOT become puppets for political campaigns.

[Larry Ogg]

6. Image, there’s nothing wrong with our image,

the rest of the world just hate us because of our freedoms.

Oh, and by the way I’d like to stay and chat about all the injustices in the would that our foreign policy does best to fuck up, but there’s a NASCAR race on!

[Merrill]

7. No way

They dislike our government not us real people. Our goverment and corporate america think that all natural resources should be controlled by corporate america.
Generally speaking real people of all nations like each other and have no use for war. War is a waste of money and lives. The only group that loves to go to war and conquer are some so called world leaders.

[Larry Ogg]

8. Dam Merrill there for a minute I thought I change my screen name.

Your reply sounds exactly what I was thinking, but instead I decided to say what most clueless Americans do, like not care… Oh shit… I have to go now my wife just found a basket game on TV… Oh and by the way, welcome to DU, and I totally agree with you about the corporations and our so called government and world leaders, who would have everyone to think differently.

[Top08Gear_com]

10. DITTO!

I couldn't agree more with you Merrill!

[Merrill]

9. 363 Tons of Cash flown in

The United States loaded 363 tons of cash on palettes and airlifted it to Iraq during the reign of provisional authority L. Paul Bremer.

363 tons of cash. This is getting into territory where it is easier to measure the weight of the money than the amount involved. I mean 363 tons of cash just boggles the mind. One of these transports was the largest cash transfer in the history of the federal reserve. And the sad fact is that this is all money that was sent into a black hole. Fully $8.8 billion can not be accounted for after being given to Iraqi government agencies.