At the beginning of the year, there's a lot of talk about spending restraint and reducing the deficit. At the end of the year, that's all kind of forgotten. |
Currently we're paying for this war essentially on our credit card. We're not raising taxes, we're not cutting other programs to pay for it and that adds to the federal debt. |
Even assuming, perhaps optimistically, that this gap could be covered by drawing equally upon U.S., international and Iraqi resources, this suggests that an additional $5 to $10 billion in U.S. reconstruction assistance might need to be provided. |
From the very macro level, which is frankly all you can do, I would think [burn rates would be] roughly the same if you have roughly the same troops there. |
Given the critical importance to the war effort of winning the 'hearts and minds' of the Iraqi people, and the generally strong support among Iraqis for reconstruction-related assistance, such a lopsided approach seems, at best, risky. |
I think the incentives there are pretty strong to use the supplemental. It doesn't play the same way when you call it emergency funding. |
If you look at the earlier estimates of anticipated costs, this war is a lot more expensive than it should be based on past conflicts. |
If you want to have intelligent questions (from the press), you get better question if you give people time to prepare. |
Interesting rhetoric ... but the really big (weapons) modernization were left untouched. |
It's difficult enough to really react to all the data typically included in defense budget. To not even have access to the basic top line over view before you have the opportunity to question the secretary seems problematic. It doesn't have the out years beyond 2007; usually, in fact in all previous blue tops, it had those numbers. |
It's just not that big a chunk of the budget. You've got to go where the money is. |
It's just not that big a chunk of the budget. You've got to go where the money is. There's a lot of rhetoric about spending restraint, but there's been no serious effort to actually address the deficit. Part of the problem is there's no consensus on how to do it. |
People in the White House said [Lindsey] was way off. It turns out he was. But just not in the direction they thought. |
The Army may have a tough time pushing these projected reductions through Congress. |
There is some reason to be surprised that it's this much. The Congressional Budget Office had estimated the defense department would need $85bn and that was with no drawdown in troops. |