by Les Zsoldos

Created on: September 24, 2009   Last Updated: September 25, 2009

The war in Iraq is clearly bad for the US economy. The cost of continuing the war is enormous. At a time when the US has a national debt of trillions of dollars, a recession, high unemployment and high deficits, the war is clearly a drain on the nation's financial resources.

It is true that certain interests benefit from the war. They include the military and armsmakers, but they constitute a relatively small percentage of the American population. The enormous costs associated with the war in Iraq not only burden the American government but diverting funding from other areas.

In addition to the enormous costs of the war is the tremendous uncertainty created by not knowing when the Iraqis can fully take control over their own country and not knowing how much more this war will cost. Without question, armsmakers and supporters of the war effort want it to continue, but this does not take into consideration the interests of the rest of the population.

The national debt of the United States is at unprecedented levels and growing. With increased spending in Iraq, the ability of the American government to deal with the growing debt is severely compromised. If the United States were not spending so much money on the war in Iraq, it could address the serious problem of deficit spending and the growing national debt.

During an economic recession, it may seem impossible to make payments on the national debt, but programs to reduce unemployment and encourage spending are critical. Reduced unemployment results in a larger workforce and ultimately greater tax revenue. Increased consumer spending injects more money into the economy and helps to lessen the need for government spending.

The war in Iraq impedes the American government's ability to focus on the critical problem of the national debt. It also ensures that the national debt will continue to grow and that deficit spending will be the norm. The costs associated with the war are immense. It is a fact that American military spending increased at unprecedented levels during the administration of former President Bush. The result is undoubtedly a larger miltary that has become even more difficult to maintain.

It is understandable that those who are supporters of an increased military want the war in Iraq to continue indefinitely. It is probably also true that once the military increases, it is not easy to cut it back to previous levels. Cuts to the military are often very unpopular not only among the military establishment but among those who believe that such cuts endanger the nation's security. Despite the inevitable opposition to cuts to the military and ending the war in Iraq, it is imperative to do so to revive the American economy.

However, it is not easy to end the war in Iraq. Without question, the war has made Iraq a breeding ground for terrorists and it is Al-Qaeda's intention not only to weaken the United States financially, but also morally and militarily. The result is that the American military is now spread throughout the world and drains much of the nation's resources.

Without the war in Iraq, the United States would have more financial resources to dedicate to green technology, employment training, education and research and development, all important in the economic development of a nation. Unfortunately, the high costs of the war in Iraq are detrimental to the U.S. economy.

Iraq, war, economy

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