Representative John Yarmuth, a Democrat from Kentucky, said that the Iraq war is a is a “leading cause” of the United State’s recent economic troubles. The Iraq war cost “more than half-a-trillion dollars,” money that he said could and should be used on problems within the United States and not wasted on the improgress associated with the Iraq war effort. “Across America, our roads and bridges are crumbling and are in desperate need of repair, yet taxpayer dollars are being squandered on an Iraqi government that is riddled with waste, fraud and corruption…The cost of one month in Iraq could extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program, which the president vetoed, to 10 million children of working families for a full year,” he said.

On Friday, senate Republicans blocked a bill from passing which would have given President George W. Bush only a small portion of the $196 Billion he requested for the War on Terror, and would have set December of 2008 as a goal for withdrawal of U.S soldiers from Iraq. The bill only received 53 out of the required 60 votes, with 43 votes against it, only two of which were from Democratic Senators. This was just one of many failed attempts to set a date for Iraq troop withdrawal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The economic costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are estimated to total $1.6 trillion — roughly double the amount the White House has requested thus far, according to a new report by Democrats on Congress’ Joint Economic Committee. more…

Via AP / USA Today > 

An ongoing investigation by the Federal Bureau stated that of the 17 reported deaths of Iraqi civilians that occurred on Sept. 16, only 3 might have been justified. Blackwater violated “deadly-force rules in effect for security contractors in Iraq.” The investigation is still underway, but Blackwater is being held at fault. The case is currently under review by the Justice Department. As many as five guards opened fire, and the initial claims of self-defense by Blackwater were dismissed due to lack of evidence.

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The Pentagon announced that it can’t account for about 190,000 AK-47 rifles and pistols that were given to Iraq security forces in 2004 and 2005. The Government Accountability Office said in a report released on July 31 that the Defense Department is also missing 135,000 body armor items and 115,000 helmets. There are concerns of a possibility that some of the weapons might have accidentally fallen into the hands of Iraqi insurgents, but that has not been confirmed. The Pentagon says that this is probably a result of poor record keeping, and promises is improve it’s tracking. The Government Accountability Office said that proper records were not kept due to the need to rapidly equip Iraqi force.

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