Costs of War -- * Iraqi Family * American Families * U.S. Soldiers * U.S. Taxpayers

Institute for Public Accuracy
915 National Press Building, Washington, D.C. 20045
(202) 347-0020 * http://www.accuracy.org * ipa@accuracy.org
___________________________________________________

PM Tuesday, October 26, 2004

Perspectives on the Costs of War:
* Iraqi Family * American Families * U.S. Soldiers * U.S. Taxpayers

KHALID JARRAR, khalidjarrar@gmail.com
http://www.afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com
FAIZA JARRAR, [mother] eng_faiza@yahoo.com
RAED JARRAR, [brother], jarrar_raed@hotmail.com
The Jarrar family lives in Baghdad, and has set up a blog listed above.
Khalid Jarrar said today: "The costs of war have been so many innocent
souls, Iraqi and American souls, and the destruction of a country. ...
Explosions outside our home are common. ... There isn't any political
process, there is a military process that is hoped to accomplish
political goals. The government is planning to attack, with the help of
the American army, anyone who doesn't agree with it. The resistance is
widely respected by Iraqis, terrorism is widely condemned. People
generally support the attacks on the American army, as it's an
occupation army now. There are many reasons for this -- religious
reasons, patriotic reasons, and even for revenge -- the American army
has killed over 13,000 civilians and is bombing houses in different
places. Children and women are dying. All the families of those are
possible fighters."

TERI WILLIS ALLISON, teri@asapchoice.com, http://www.tomdispatch.com
NANCY LESSIN, mfso@mfso.org, http://www.mfso.org
Author of the recent article "The Costs of War: A Mother's View,"
Allison said today: "I know something about the costs of an unjust war,
for my son, Nick -- an infantryman in the U.S. Army -- is fighting one
in Iraq. I don't speak for my son. I couldn't even if I wanted to, for
all I hear through the Mom Filter is: 'I'm fine, Mom, don't worry, I'm
fine, everything is fine, fine, fine, we're fine, just fine.' But I can
tell you what some of the costs are as I live and breathe them." Lessin
is a founder of Military Families Speak Out. She is in contact with
close relatives of the 343rd Quartermaster Company soldiers who refused
to take orders for a "suicide mission."

ANTHONY SWOFFORD, anthonyhswofford@yahoo.com,
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5031075/site/newsweek
Author of the book "Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and
Other Battles," Swofford said today: "The crucial thing is what's
happening on the ground. We still don't know what the plan is for Iraq.
We've simply been treated to justifications for the invasion of Iraq
under the banner of the 'war on terror,' which is a conveniently
open-ended enterprise. We need to begin to understand why we're there,
when we're getting out. What has happened is that dissent has been
crushed under the weight of endless misinformation."

MIRIAM PEMBERTON, miriam@ips-dc.org, http://ips-dc.org
ERIK LEAVER, erik@ips-dc.org
Peace and security editor for Foreign Policy In Focus, Pemberton said
today: "Pentagon officials are now saying they will be requesting about
$70 billion to pay for the next phase of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan, raising the monthly cost to $5.8 billion per month. In
perspective, adjusted for inflation, Vietnam cost $5.1 billion per
month. The administration is downplaying this news, saying the final
figure has not been determined. ... Back before the war, chief White
House economic advisor Lawrence Lindsey predicted it could cost between
$100 and $200 billion. The administration disputed this, predicting a
cost of $50 billion, and fired him." Pemberton testified before
Congress in 2002 on the estimated costs of the war. Leaver is policy
outreach director for Foreign Policy In Focus. He said today: "The
President promised that with the 'transfer of power' in June, things
would be getting better in Iraq. In fact, the situation has become far
more dangerous and far more costly. This new request is the highest to
date for military operations in Iraq." Leaver is a co-author of the
report "A Failed 'Transition': The Mounting Costs of the Iraq War" from
the Institute for Policy Studies.

For more information, contact at the Institute for Public Accuracy:
Sam Husseini, (202) 347-0020; or David Zupan, (541) 484-9167


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