Think Fast from Think Progress

from Think Progress

At the outset of the Iraq war, the Bush administration predicted that it would cost $50 billion to $60 billion to oust Saddam Hussein, restore order and install a new government.” Now, five years later, the Pentagon says the cost of the war is “roughly $600 billion and counting” while economist Joseph Stiglitz “pegs the long-term cost at more than $4 trillion,” which he calls an “excessively conservative” estimate.

Marking the fifth anniversary of the Iraq war, President Bush will deliver a speech today at the Pentagon defending his decision to wage war. According to excerpts, Bush will say the war’s “high cost in lives and treasure” has been “necessary” and that the war’s successes are “undeniable.”

71 percent: Americans who think “U.S. spending in Iraq is a reason for the nation’s poor economy.” According to the new CNN poll, just 36 percent of the American public believes the “situation in Iraq was worth going to war over — down from 68 percent in March 2003, when the war began.”

32 percent: The number of Americans who approve of President Bush, down from 34 last month. The new Reuters/Zogby poll also finds that only 19 percent believes the country is headed in the right direction.

Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, a surrogate for John McCain, told an audience that the religious right is “a serious problem.” “On the Christian hard right, I live in Charlottesville now and I can’t tell you I’m surrounded by it,” Eagleburger said. “I must tell you we fought it there, fought hard against it. There’s no question that in the Republican Party it is a serious problem.” Read the rest of this entry »