A load of crap from an idle brain

The book goes into the details of how much it has cost the United States to go to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The book also explores if the war was necessary; could it have been avoided; could the money invested in the war have been better invested in some other productive activity etc.

Also the author tries to explore if the main reason of the US going to war in Iraq was to get cheaper oil? And if it was the reason, then the US failed miserably.  Also its agenda of foisting its belief of democracy on the middle east has come apart.

Neither is the world any safer.  We are much more under attack from the jehadi groups. Looking at the attempts at hijacking planes, and attempted bombings of the countries, its only safe to say that there hasn’t been a worse foreign policy than what was pursued under the Presidency of George Bush.

Readers may be surprised to learn just how difficult it was for Nobel Prize-winning economist Stiglitz and Kennedy School of Government professor Bilmes to dig up the actual and projected costs of the Iraq War for this thorough piece of accounting. Using “emergency” funds to pay for most of the war, the authors show that the White House has kept even Congress and the Comptroller General from getting a clear idea on the war’s true costs. Other expenses are simply overlooked, one of the largest of which is the $600 billion going toward current and future health care for veterans. These numbers reveal stark truths: improvements in battlefield medicine have prevented many deaths, but seven soldiers are injured for every one that dies (in WWII, this ratio was 1.6 to one). Figuring in macroeconomic costs and interest-the war has been funded with much borrowed money-the cost rises to $4.5 trillion; add Afghanistan, and the bill tops $7 trillion. This shocking expose, capped with 18 proposals for reform, is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how the war was financed, as well as what it means for troops on the ground and the nation’s future.

The book written by none other than Nobel prize winner for Economics, Joseph Stiglitz goes deep into how the US govt repeatedly fudged accounts, gave out wrong assumptions and projections of money to be spent on the war.  The Defense department according to Stiglitz is one of the most opaque organization in the US govt with no proper audit in place or specification of the money being spent.

According to the most conservative calculations by Stiglitz, the US govt has spent more than 3 trillion dollars on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.  This when then book came out last year or the year before.  Billions more have flown down the drain.  Some more estimates peg the money spent at almost 4-5 trillion dollars.  All these money could have been invested in the US economy itself and the world wouldn’t have had this economic recession.

The book gets a bit bogged down into the numbers, but is a shocking read at the policy mishaps under the Republican regime.

The Three Trillion Dollar War
Authors – Joseph E Stiglitz & Linda Blimes
Pages – 336
Publisher – WW Norton & Company

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There are questions in the back of everyone’s minds.  Things that we might find trivial and are afraid of asking someone lest they might think that we are stupid.  Maybe people are simply jealous that they never thought of it before.  Or maybe people being people are so happy living a conformist life that they don’t like to question and are happy following the herd.

Everyone’s got questions.  I got mine too.  One of which is the wisdom of buying a costly fighter plane over spending a fraction of that amount buying a missile.

Every country spends billions of dollars buying up fighter planes to shore up their air force capabilities.  India is no stranger.  They have already sent out RFQ for buying upto 126 such planes.

A F-18 fighter plane costs approximately $54 million. A fighter plane can  home on to many targets at the same time, carry a nuclear bomb, can enter an enemy’s territory and bomb the hell out of the place, can do reconnaissance and lot lot more.

So, is buying another fighter plane the only solution for a rival?  A missile, E.g  A patriot missile (used by the US ) costs approx $2 million per unit.  The job of this missile is to shoot down an incoming missile.  Am sure the same missile can then probably even shoot down an incoming enemy fighter plane.  Or else with proper modifications, it can do the job.

In that case why should someone spend $54 million for a F-18 when they can buy 27 patriot missiles for the same amount?  Assuming the worst kill ratio of 1:5 (i.e firing off 5 missiles to blow away one fighter plane), its still a cheaper deal than buying a fighter.  The above mentioned cost of a plane probably doesn’t cover the cost of maintenance, upgrades and repairs. All that added up over the whole lifetime of the aircraft could add up to a significant amount.

If one can shoot down the aircraft with the first missile itself, that means a significant boost when it comes to the hit ratio.  A cost of $2 million versus $54 million.  Which is a better bet?

Of course the aircraft can dodge a missile as most of the missiles today work on heat seeking technology. Am sure the scientists could work on some other methods by which the missile can lock down on the aircraft and really chase it down no matter what the pilot does to shake off the chasing missile.

Maybe there are things that Iam not aware of.  That’s because Iam not a professional nor have I done any studies in aircraft, missiles or anything related to arms and ammunition.  Or maybe people who have the power or the mandate to do the purchase do have knowledge but dont want to take the risk.  What if the gut feeling comes off wrong?  What if in the case of a war, the country becomes a sitting duck to the rival’s aircraft?

But I do believe that my point of thought also has its own merits.  If that is so, why dont we see any country follow such a strategy? Is it because they are too much impressed by the glossy brochures and marketing talk of the aircraft companies?  Or are they also infected with the same disease that every IT professional suffers from i.e to spend his / her whole lifetime cribbing about the bad security in Microsoft products and yet stick to them all their life?

PS: All prices mentioned above are approximate pricing and that i found by googling the net.

Above pictures source: Wikipedia & Tcappsbct

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A soldier’s General, Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw crafted India’s greatest military victory in the 1971 Indo-Pak war that created just not history, but also a new nation. Affectionately called “Sam Bahadur”, Manekshaw, 94, was the architect of many a military triumph, but his finest hour came when Pakistani forces were vanquished in 14 days flat. And Bangladesh was born.

Just before the Bangladesh operations in December 1971, the then prime minister Indira Gandhi asked Manekshaw, who was the Army Chief then, “General are you ready” (for the war). Pat came the reply from the dapper officer, “I am always ready sweetie.” Indira was not unpleased, nor offended.

On another occasion, Indira asked him whether he was planning to take over the country. Pointing to his long nose, the General replied: “I don’t use it to poke into other’s affairs.”

Read the tribute to one of India’s greatest soldier here.

Above pictures from Wikipedia & Bharat Rakshak

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