The economic and emotional effect of the Iraq war on the home front is immense, and the full scope of it may not be clear for years to come. There is no way to put a price tag on the loss of even one soldier or Marine, and the emotional trauma of prolonged separation on families cannot be calculated from an actuarial table. What we do know about both aspects make it clear that the deployment of our troops must come to an end sooner rather than later.
To date we have spent over $500 billion on the Iraq war. Many commentators have given examples of what could have been done with that amount of money had it been put to use at home, but one sticks out in my mind. $500 billion would fund the Social Security system for the next 75 years, well beyond the crisis point that the retirement of the Baby Boom generation will bring. Instead of jumping headlong into a catastrophe, we could have averted one.
It is in the deployment of the National Guard to Iraq for extended combat rotations that we see emotional and economic effects at their worst. The prolonged separation of families that were not prepared for it in the way that active duty families are takes a tremendous toll. The number of small business wiped out because of their owners are overseas continues to grow, and small business is the backbone of our economy. Entire small town police forces have disappeared as Guard and Reservist MPs are sent to patrol make Baghdad “safer” while crime increases at home.
We hear every day about the brave men and women who have lost their lives in Iraq. But except for the recent outrage over conditions at Walter Reed Hospital little has been said about the number of wounded soldiers and Marines returning home every day. The VA is not equipped to handle the skyrocketing number of soldiers returning with significant mental problems caused by living on edge for months at a time and compounded by multiple combat tours. We support the veterans of this war much more than we did in the Vietnam era, but the mental health treatment they are receiving is only marginally better.
The emotional impact spills over even to those not directly impacted as a result of a friend or loved one serving overseas. Both political parties have tried to pit us against each other over the war for their own gain, and both sides argue that opposing them makes a person unpatriotic and not a supporter of our troops. The decimation of the National Guard will have long-lasting effects for states dealing with natural disasters and other emergencies, as we have already seen in New Orleans when the Louisiana National Guard was deployed during Hurricane Katrina.
Until our so-called leaders actually begin leading instead of simply talking and posturing, the only thing that will change is that the future will grow even more bleak and uncertain for us and for our children.
