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Almost everyone wants U.S. troops out of Iraq now. For the cost of a single day of military operations, my plan brings every soldier home as soon as tomorrow—easily, safely and in First Class.We must implement this plan without delay, given that “almost everyone” includes 90% of Iraqis, and a huge majority of U.S. soldiers and citizens. Meanwhile, our loyal troops languish in a distant sectarian catastrophe, irrelevant to home security, trapped between car bombs, insurgent fire, a paralyzed Commander-in-Chief and a divided, angry Congress. My solution?
The Iraq war costs U.S. taxpayers at least $275,000,000 a day (not counting cost overruns, lost oil revenue, fraud and Halliburton overcharges) to support 150,000 U.S. soldiers. A reliable ally, Kuwait, has the nearest secure airport with scheduled international passenger jet service to the U.S., where several carriers each charge $1,200 a ticket. So a mere $180,000,000 buys every U.S. soldier a ticket home—plus drinks, meals, pillows, movies and freebie airline slippers for all. I propose we spend the entire daily cost—that extra $95,000,000--and bump all soldiers to first class. That’s how you “support the troops.”
And all for less than the cost of 24 hours of war? Iraqi insurgents’ targets vanish. Untold years of projected war costs get returned to the U.S. budget, so U.S. taxpayers’ expenditures actually contribute to U.S. taxpayers’ security and well-being at home. Most of all, our well-trained and dedicated soldiers are home to defend the sudden arrival of peace.
