Of course the economic cost of the neocolonialist attack on Libya is probably not the first thing on the minds of the Libyans under fire. Regardless of the politics of populist dictator al-Qaddafi, most of the people fighting for him are surely doing what they regard as their patriotic duty. But until they start releasing the body counts, let's tally up the non moral costs of doing this dirty business:
The cost of a US F-15 fighter jet like the one just crashed or shot down over Libya: in 1998 just under $30 million a piece
Costs of operating these jets: "Meanwhile, it generally costs $10,000 per hour, including maintenance and fuel, to operate F-15s and F-16s. Those costs do not include the payloads dropped from the aircraft. The B-2s dropped 45 Joint Direct Attack Munitions, or JDAMS, which are 2,000-pound bombs that cost between $30,000 and $40,000 apiece to replace."
The cost of Tomahawk Missiles: "On the first day of strikes alone, U.S.-led forces launched 112 long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles, which cost about $1 million to $1.5 million apiece, from ships stationed off the Libyan coast. That totaled $112 million to $168 million. Since those first strikes, U.S. and British forces have launched at least another 12 Tomahawk missiles."
Well, thank goodness they're taking all that money away from NPR and Planned Parenthood! Thank goodness this is a country where people choose between paying for healthcare or rent! Nobody can say we don't have our priorities set.
UPDATE: Let me tack on this lovely bit of bitter cynicism from The Angry Arab: "Obama, the peace candidate:
I am sure that in 2012 when Obama runs for re-election, he would pledge to end the war in Libya."
(Thanks to Annie for the inspiration for this post)
It's never really about the money is it? No one is screaming about spending dollars here, the criticism now is "not acting swiftly" - yikes my head is spinning, this little 'Odyssey' happened so fast it was like snapping-a-tablecloth-off-the-table party trick. I mean the water in the glasses barely moved it was so fast.
ReplyDeleteI watched a documentary on Darwin the other day and now I wonder, have we stopped evolving altogether? I think we stopped at the Cave & Club stage only now we put on clothes to make us look more human. If we can dazzle with style maybe no one will notice our actions.
This did happen way too fast. I hope they have that little cap they yanked off the genie bottle.
ReplyDeleteI heard Sen. John Kerry on NPR trying to reassure the newscaster about who the opposition in Libya is. It wasn't convincing: easily Ahmed Chalabi Jr.
“Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive” ~ Sir Walter Scott
ReplyDeleteToday on the news the subject of cost of this recent Odyssey came up - the admin. reply was 'these were old weapons' - (I'm shaking my head here) reminds me of when I was raising my kids and something they would say when confronted.
ReplyDeletemy opinion: we are NOT fighting a war in libya. we are marginally involved as a major UN member who agreed to the resolution of a no-fly zone.
ReplyDelete@ freebones: If you say so, but I see this "marginally involved" a bit differently.
ReplyDeleteWar has been described as follows: "an openly declared state of organized violent conflict, typified by extreme aggression, societal disruption, and high mortality."
I suppose terms such as violent, extreme, disruption and mortality as all open for different degrees of interpretation.