$567 billion pissed away on no-bid Iraq Halliburton contracts - $140-billion in tax rebates for us

And gas is over $3 bucks a gallon around here. If a Dem were in the White House he would have been impeached for his safety to protect him from the hordes of people armed with pitchforks. Our media would see to that.

Don

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004243.php

A new Congressional study finds that President Bush's plans for the U.S. in Iraq over the next several decades will reach the trillions of dollars, on top of the approximately $567 billion the war has already cost. That accounting assumes a significant troop draw-down -- and still tallies a daunting expense for the United States.

We've added the report to our document collection. You can read it here.

On June 1, during a trip to U.S. Pacific Command in Honolulu, Defense Secretary Robert Gates mused about how to "posture ourselves" in Iraq "for the long term." The Vietnam experience underscored the undesirability of a sudden, abrupt withdrawal. Far better for the U.S. to follow the experiences of post-conflict garrisoning in Korea and Japan, he said: "a mutually agreed arrangement whereby we have a long and enduring presence." President Bush is reportedly intrigued by the so-called Korea model, wherein the U.S. has guaranteed security on the Korean peninsula with at least four U.S. Army combat brigades for half a century. Indeed, in his speech on Thursday, Bush declared himself ready to build an "enduring relationship" between the U.S. and Iraq.

The study, conducted by the Congressional Budget Office, decided to follow the Korea model to calculate its expense. Since it's unclear for how long or under what conditions combat operations will ensue, the CBO projects both a combat and a non-combat presence. Both, however, are projected to require 55,000 U.S. troops in Iraq. The combat scenario entails one-time costs of $4 to $8 billion, with annual expenses of $25 billion, projected outward. Under the non-combat scenario, a $8 billion one-time cost -- mainly for the construction of additional "enduring" bases -- would be followed by annual costs of $10 billion or less.

http://www.canada.com/topics/news/story.html?id=dabb4178-3bd9-4966-8049-f1d677a258e0

Bush calls for $140-billion US tax-stimulus package

Steven Edwards , Canwest News Service
Published: Saturday, January 19, 2008

NEW YORK -- Acknowledging a "risk" of a recession, U.S. President George W. Bush called on U.S. lawmakers Friday to agree on a stimulus package of about $140 billion US that gives immediate tax relief to both individuals and businesses.

Bush said for the package to make a difference, it needed to be as large as one per cent of the country's gross domestic product - which translates into between $130 billion and $150 billion US.

Such a package was America's "most pressing economic priority," Bush said during his seven-minute address at the White House, marking the first time he has publicly spoken on the subject.

into infrastructure and create jobs.