363 Tons (of dollars) And What Do You Get?


363 tons of cash were shipped to Iraq on wooden pallets just before the “hand over” of the government—that’s about 4 billion for those of you who don’t usually weigh your hundred dollar bills. This news was first revealed in the summer of 2005, but more details were provided yesterday in oversight hearings chaired by Rep. Henry Waxman, who asked, “Who in their right mind would send 363 tons of cash into a war zone?”

Paul Bremer, the guy who was the administrator of the Coalition Provisional Authority back when the Bush Administration thought the Mission Was Accomplished, told the committee that the Iraqi finance minister asked for the cash.

Almost nine billion of that money was never accounted for, you’ll be surprised to learn.

Hey, they were in the middle of a war, and there was no banking system, he said.

"I acknowledge that I made mistakes and that, with the benefit of hindsight, I would have made some decisions differently," Bremer said.

Ya think?

The timing of this vivid war story is especially bad, coming as it does on the heels of the President’s just submitted budget for 2008.

Oh, and guess who’ll be paying for Bush’s War?

If you guessed grannies, kids and the working poor, you’ve obviously been paying attention to how things work in the Bush Administration. Finally, the President is asking Americans to share the sacrifice for his war. Not all Americans, mind you—just the ones who are needy.

To pay for the Bush/Cheney war machine, and, of course, tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans and corporations, the President suggests cuts in Medicare and Medicaid, and that’s just for starters. Because our eyes glaze over at the word “budget” most of us can’t even imagine how to convert the numbers into real human costs, which, of course, the White House is counting on. But Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont breaks it down. (So did Diane Feinstein and others, by the way).

Eliminating the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP), which is a vital nutrition program primarily for low-income seniors but also serving mothers, infants and children across the country.

A $379 million cut to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which helps senior citizens and low income families pay for home heating.

A $100 million cut for Head Start, at a time when only about one-half of the children eligible for this program actually participate due to a lack of funding.. A complete elimination of the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Program even though each and every year more people are diagnosed with TBI than those who suffer from breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, Spinal Cord Injury and Multiple Sclerosis combined.

A $310 million cut in the National Institutes of Health, including a big cut for the National Cancer Institute. A $172 million cut in elderly housing and a $115 million cut in housing for persons with disabilities.

Fortunately, with a Democratic majority, much of this is DOA.

Speaking of DOA, how about that Joe Lieberman (R-I-D Conn.) terror tax? As leader of the one man R-I-D Joe party, he proved that he can piss off both Republicans and Democrats at exactly the same time by proposing that Americans support the Bush war with a war on terrorism tax. (Doesn’t he know that to Republicans, every tax increase is like terrorism?) Good luck with your new friends, Joe.

Of course, I can't talk about numbers and Iraq without mentioning the numbers that matter most of all--3110 American soldiers killed, more than 22,800 wounded, and who even knows exactly how many Iraqis killed and wounded.

Some costs cannot be recouped, ever.