Iraq War and the U.S. Economy

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that no aspect of the U.S. economy has remained unchanged during any given war. The author points out that the current Iraq war has positioned itself to possibly be the longest in U.S. history and hence the most expensive. The paper relates that, with more than 1 million U.S. troops in Iraq, the cost of long-term medical care and disability benefits will continue for years after the war. The paper underscores that post-war occupation and reconstruction, an inevitable factor in this conflict adds an even higher cost to the war. The author concludes that, in addition to direct costs, the Iraq war is destabilizing the economy by causing increasing oil prices, uncertainty in the credit market, inflation created by a greater demand of economic goods and services, and an increasing need to pay for the war with borrowed dollars.

From the Paper:

"With the increased costs of war comes a hefty interest payment on the national deficit. Joint Economic Committee (JEC) Chairman Sen. Charles E. Schumer, JEC Vice-Chair Rep. Carolyn Maloney , released a new report exposing the hidden costs of the war in Iraq. The Joint Economic Committee report entitled, "War at Any Price? The Total Economic Costs of the War" details the high hidden economic costs of the war in Iraq beyond the direct budgetary appropriations, including interest costs of borrowing these funds, lost investment, long term veteran's health care, and oil market disruptions."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Begos, Kevin & Zerwik, Phoebe, (February 2005), Iraq: Civilian Contractors Working for U.S. Make a Bundle to Destroy Munitions, Retrieved from the World Wide Web 20 November 2007: http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11843
• Blimes, Linda, Stiglitz, Joseph, (February 2006), The Economic Costs of the Iraq War: An Appraisal Three Years After the Beginning of the Conflict, NBER Working Paper No. W12054. Retrieved from the World Wide Web 19 October 2007: http://www.nber.org/papers/w12054
• Cowen, Tyler (28 October 2007). To Know Contractors, Know Government. NY Times, Business Section. Retrieved 28 October 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/28/business/28view.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
• Gilbert, Mark (18 May 2007), Credit Market "Bubble" May be at Bursting Point, Bloomberg News. Retrieved 20 October 2007 on the World Wide Web: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/05/17/bloomberg/bxatm.php
• Gimbel, John, "The Origins of Marshall Plan" Stanford University Press, 1976

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