Iraq is the place where 4,219 U.S soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen have died since the launch of that unnecessary invasion. That includes 24-year-old Justin Bauer (Loveland, Colo.) and 20-year-old Sean McCune (Euless, Tex) who were killed this week. Christmastime brought the deaths of Jon Dean (25) of Henegar, Ala. and Coleman Hinkefent (19) of Coweta, Okla.
The $3T Iraq conflict, a total cost estimated by Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz, has sadly fallen off the media’s radar. Pew Research’s Project for Excellence in Journalism reports Iraq didn’t crack the Top Ten stories of the week ended Jan. 11. President-elect Barack Obama’s transition rightfully stole the show with the No. 1 ranking.
That was followed by the invasion of Gaza, Blago/Burris saga, financial crisis and Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The new Congress, flooding in the Pacific Northwest, auto industry collapse, Russia/natural gas shipments and Bush’s last days in office rounded out the list.
Admittedly, the Iraq occupation has been a long and tough slog. There is much more fun for papers to report “news” about the latest medical miracle, such as a drug to grow longer and lusher eyelashes.
The Iraq debacle though is at the core of America’s problems. The $3T outlay is far greater than the $850B economic stimulas package proposed by the Democrats. Fixing Iraq is one of the best ways to bolster the economy. As Stiglitz wrote in the Washington Post, “money spent paying Nepalese workers in Iraq (or even Iraqi ones) doesn't stimulate the U.S. economy the way that money spent at home would.”
The media need to hold Obama to his promise to get out of Iraq as soon as possible. The best way to do that is for Iraq to return to Pew’s Top Ten list.
(Image: onlineathens.com)