Yesterday, the House of Commons voted to extend our mission in Afghanistan. One might think the first question to be asked would have been how much this is going to cost. If it had been, there wouldn't have been an answer. If anybody knows, they aren't saying. Hard to believe, but our legislators in their wisdom voted to sink us in deeper without any idea how many more billions of our dollars it will require.We may be assured, however, it will be a lot. Since we first embarked on this adventure in 2001, we have spent at least $7.7-billion, double what we budgeted for. This fiscal year alone, it appears we will be $1-billion over budget. According to a spokesperson for Defence Minister Peter MacKay, "This is not a cost overrun - it is simply an adjustment to the estimated incremental cost of the mission." There will, no doubt, be many more "adjustments to the estimated incremental costs" in the future.
So the war is going great. We're extending it ad hoc. We're begging our friends for help. We're spending double what we expected. Do I hear echoes of Iraq out there?
Support our troops indeed.
Do I hear support the troops; bring them home!
ReplyDeleteThe costs are outrageous, on top of the deaths/maiming of citizens/soldiers, the destruction of the land, pollution, and overthetop carbon emissions.
We need a department of peace, and time for the cons/libs to go.