Iraq

[jerseydevil]

Originally posted by Cirdan
The 1 trillion figure was for the war, the reconstruction, and the occupation for ~10 years. If you look at S. Korea, ten years is not a very long time.

Without two of the three largest economies (France and Germany) out, help isn't coming in large amounts. The "billions" in deals are miniscule in comparison to the economies. Eastern Europe's support is worth about two nickels, economically. It's only value is political.

As for Afganistan, they have nothing. Germany and Japan had huge industrial, economic, and educational foundations. Afganistan has dirt. Economics is what it is all about. Iraq is oil rich, so the chances are better there. Neither has the cultural cohesion of Germany or Japan. Too many factions at odds. Besides, we still have troops in Japan and Germany. It's still al large expense to us.

I agree.

You can't compare the fact the we have troops still in Germany and Japan as a reconstruction force. They're only there as strategic forces and have been for years. Supposedly we will be removing our 70,000 troops from Germany in the near future. It's about time too. No sense in keeping them there, supporting an economy where they're not wanted and since the Soviet Union no longer exists - we don't need to waste money protecting Germany anymore. Just hope without our military presence they don't get any ideas of WWII grandeur again and decide they want to rule the world.