Fast Fact

Costs of Worn-out Iraq Equipment High

Alexander Sewell — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 09:33:11 -0700

The U.S. Government Accountability Office reports that it will take years and cost about $200 billion to repair or replace equipment that was worn out or broken in the Iraq war.

Pentagon Budget Consumes More than Half of Spending

Armand Biroonak — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:00:00 -0700

The Pentagon’s budget accounts for more than half of all “discretionary spending”— that is, half of everything the federal government spends after paying for entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, and interest on the national debt. .

Defense Budget is Over $1 Trillion a Year

Armand Biroonak — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:00:00 -0700

At $700 billion, the defense budget is about equal to the combined military spending of the rest of the world. Add in the cost of caring for our veterans, arms aid in the State Department budget, homeland security measures, and more, and actual spending climbs to over $1 trillion a year.

Private Corporations Control Our Nation's War Endeavors

Alexander Sewell — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:00:00 -0700

Seventy percent of the intelligence budget now goes to contractors. Private corporate interests control our nation’s most sensitive information and help direct our most critical foreign policy decisions.

Conservatives Kill Renewable Energy Bill

Alexander Sewell — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:00:00 -0700

Conservatives killed 2007 legislation that would have required 15 percent of our electricity to come from renewable sources and they continue to block the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008.

Suicide Bombings Increase Since War on Terror

Alexander Sewell — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:00:00 -0700

Worldwide, suicide bombings have increased greatly since 2001, and 2007 was the worst year for such bombings in more than a quarter-century. Over half of all suicide bombings last year took place in U.S.-occupied Afghanistan and Iraq.

Military Officers Believe Military Has Been Diminished By Iraq War

Alexander Sewell — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:00:00 -0700

A poll of 3,400 military officers found that 60 percent say the U.S. military is weaker today than it was five years ago, and nearly 90 percent say the Iraq war has “stretched the U.S. military dangerously thin.”

Iraq War Costs $12 Billion a Month

Armand Biroonak — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:00:00 -0700

The Iraq War costs more than $12 billion per month and $416 million per day. These figures include neither operations in Afghanistan nor anti-terrorism programs elsewhere around the world nor the costs of caring for the wounded or replenishing our arsenals.

Iraq War Could Have Paid For...

Armand Biroonak — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:00:00 -0700

With $656 billion—the direct cost of the war in Iraq since 2003—we could have:

Brought to “good condition” all of America’s deteriorating public structures—bridges and roads, airports and railroads, schools and parks, water and sewer systems; or
Paid for a college education for every high school graduate over the next decade; or
Eliminated hunger worldwide.

Iran starts installing 6000 new centrifuges

Anita Chariw2 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:11:17 -0700

Iran has started installing “6000 new centrifuges” at the Natanz enrichment plant, President Mahmud Ahmadinejad announced after visiting the nuclear enrichment facility on Tuesday.... In his address at the meeting, the president said the testing of the new advanced centrifuges, which can enrich uranium five times faster than the current machines, will be finished in the next three months.