War: The Best Potential Budget Cut

Dear Mr. President:



You folks say that we are in an economic crisis. You folks say that we are in financial debt with China and we have been improving very slowly in this seemingly endless recession. I understand this. And I also do understand that we have to make sacrifices and we have to make budget cuts in order to make ends meet. I also understand how taxes might need to be raised in order to bounce the nation as a whole away from the red ink. All this is indeed fine and dandy. But there is one place that is absorbing all of our money yet we do nothing to try to stop.



War.



You want to improve the economy? End the stupid nonsense in the Middle East. Let’s get the hell out of there, now. Immediately. Don’t argue this, let’s go now. Let’s stop with the nonsense in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in Pakistan, and any other nation that we might dig our noses into. Let’s just back away from that conflict, bring 95% of the soldiers home (we still need some to protect and help the Embassies around the world), collect the losses, and focus strictly on ourselves. It is that easy.


The Middle East has been fighting since before Jesus Christ himself. Seriously, look it up. And the last 5 presidencies have involved us having to head over there to do something, and spending good money while at it. We had Obama with ending the Iraq war and killing more terrorists and evil group members than any other president in recent memory---but still with hundreds of soldier deaths to attend to. And then there’s Bush with the beginning of both the Iraqi and Afghan wars, Clinton with the Kosovo incident, Bush Sr. with the Persian Gulf War, Reagan with sending troops to the Lebanon among other places and also selling weapons to certain nations over there, and lastly with Carter and the Iranian hostage crisis among other ordeals.


Can you believe that we have spent the last 4 decades having to deal with issues over there? Wouldn’t it be easier to just back off and leave it at that? These two wars in the past 10 years have cost us over 3 trillion dollars. To put that in a sense, that’s $9,550+ per CITIZEN in the United States!!! Can you imagine how much better things would be if you just wrote each of us a check for half that amount? Sorry, dreaming, back to topic....

In a more ridiculous sense, that’s over 30 BILLION tickets to the Magic Kingdom. With the money we spent overseas, we could have bought the New York Yankees over 1,500 times!!! There are so many ways we can use this money that doesn’t involve wars, sending soldiers overseas, using missiles, using bombs, using drones, using essential supplies, etc, etc, etc.

Not sure if the politicians in Washington have noticed, but the United States is in trouble. Poverty is getting intense, unemployment is still at a high number, we have had to save the auto and bank industry, there has been a growing angst amongst minorities that reared its ugly head after Obama was elected, religious tolerance has taken a big hit, the middle class is struggling a bit, education is a pure disaster, and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting smaller. Americans in a generality is not spending because of financial fears unlike what happened in the 90s and even for a short period from 2003-2006. Gas prices are still high, some states are in pure shambles, and worst of all America no longer looks like the go-to place for living and not even for visiting. Tourism used to be extremely strong, and unless you are Central Florida (which honestly finds ways to always succeed) no outsider wants to see you.

The United States was on a downward spiral, and the climb back to 90s glory remains painstakingly slow. The greatest way to begin the focus on what is most important is to just drop away from everything happening in other parts of the world and begin to focus on ourselves. We don’t have to be the World Police. Because a) we need help personally, and b) we seriously are incapable of saving everybody. If it’s not Iraq, then it’s Iran, then its Pakistan, then its Rwanda, then its North Korea, or most of the African nations under tyrannical rule. In order to improve others we have to improve ourselves in terms of finances and in terms of morality.

Nothing on the face of this planet wastes more money than war. And the sooner we can end our current conflicts and keep away from others, the sooner we can focus on rebuilding a nation that has been struggling mightily for a multitude of reasons. So please Mr. President, pull those troops now. I support them, they have done a fine job, but now is the time to fix the one country that’s been requiring help for several years now:

The United States.