War At What Cost

Please see Nicholas D. Kristof's excellent article, which inspired this post.

Last week marked the 5-year anniversary, if one can call something so tragic in what's often used as a celebratory term, of the Iraq War. A group of seminarians and myself held a nighttime candlelight vigil, walking around campus and singing hymns for peace. We then gathered at the top of the hill to circle around and pray for those suffering from the war.

We've now passed the "Four Thousand Mark" in Iraq, a number none of were hoping we'd make: 4,000 servicemen and women dead, and another 30,000 injured and 100,000 diagnosed with a mental health issue like PTSD.

The $20 billion we're spending each month is the equivalent of $411 million per day or $5,000 per second... ... ... ... ... ... there goes my starting salaray as a pastor. A Congressional study found that the money spent each day in Iraq could fund an additional 58,000 children in Head Start or give 153,000 students Pell Grants for a year!

Total estimates for the war range from 1.2 to 3 TRILLION DOLLARS! Many are saying the war spending has had at least some effect on the current economic crisis. And yet we've borrowed all this money to pay for the war so far, as if we're charging the whole thing on credit. We (as in, my generation) will be paying for this war more than just with our lives, but with our livelihoods.

Since the so-called "surge" I do think there has been marginal 'success', if one can call a reduction in violence to now about one soldier's death a day, 'better.' The problem is that we're part of the 'solution', and as long as we're part of the solution, we'll be in Iraq indefinitely. Some think that's the card we have to play, but don't forget that 88% of active and retired military personnel believe Iraq is stretching our military forces dangerously thin.

Let's work for peace and pray our troops return home safely. Let's ask ourselves how we can best spend our resources. And let's work for a better tomorrow for all.