Raining money

[claymore]

How much is it costing the countries involved to fight the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan ? If those in power in those countries had any brains they would load up a couple of aircraft with dollar bills and shower Tehran ,Kabul and Baghdad every two or three days, the cost would be a fraction of what it is costing at the moment, watch the suicide bombers and fanatics melt away, because there is no one less willing to die for a cause than a man with a pocket full of money.

[kpinsiff]

I did read an article a while back that said that it is the terrorists funding education in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan. Therefore they are recruiting from a very young age as the education is anti-West. It suggested that if the West spent the money from bombs on education and welfare in these countries that there would be a lot less terrorism.

[rov1200]

As Iraq is rich in oil I hope they are paying us to train their troops and protect their country. I notice the yanks are putting in feelers to get most of the contracts that will come shortly.

Afghanistan is a dead loss. They are deporting them from Calais by the hundreds on a special chartered plane and just a few here as they make use of the human rights law. These human rights lawyers with there head in the trough deserve equal respect to those overbloated bank executives.

[Gromit]

It is estimated that the wars have so far cost the US about $3trillion.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/colum nists/guest_contributors/article3419840.ece

It is costing the UK about �3billion a year.

With very little to show for it. As geezer points out, it has created a refugee problem, We are more a threat from terrorism rather than less. The wars are recruiting grounds for Al Qaeda. And instead of stabalising the middle east and oil supplies, they have made the region vastly more dangerous. Not forgetting the 300 british lives slaughtered and many thousands of American ones.

It is hard to imagine a worse outcome. As you say, a little financial bribing could have got the job done for a fraction of the price. But that way, Rumsfeld's friends at Halliburton would not have obscene profits.

[jake-the-peg]

A very perceptive point.

Not the only answer but economic regeneration in Northern Ireland was a big factor in the peace process.

It's very easy to recruit volunteers from poor people who have very little to lose.

Showering money is an over simplification but building the economies of those two countries (away from poppies in the case of Afganistahn) is very important.

In a written response the UK is apparently contributing about �50 million to Afganistan

http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co .uk/pa/cm200607/cmhansrd/cm070612/text/70612w0 024.htm

That's less than �1 per head of UK population

You might think that's peanuts but in fact we spend 10 times that amount on peanuts in the UK

[youngmafbog]

Not sure that in the face of religious fanatism money wil triuph, in fact i doubt it will. Followers are rewarded with 50 Virgins not a barrow load of cash.

Surprised at gromit and jake for falling for the cpitalist money answer.

Another forgotten fact is that wa furthers our technology. Without war and space travel(anothe 'waste of money') we would not have many of the things we have now, nor would we have half the nuclear scientists we do !

[Gromit]

So, tw@t 'em with non-stick pans it is then.

[jno]

lol Gromit.

[nogginthenog]

jake-the-peg i do not eat peanuts

[buildersmate]

Then the rate things are escalating, the country (Afghanistan) will soon have a serious balance of trade deficit in virgins.

[jake-the-peg]

You know youngmafbog the longer you're on here the more unintelligable you become.

What do you think makes a religious fanatic? do you think it's genetic?

Religious fanaticsm is not related to a particular religion -as it happens it's the 30th anniverery of Jones Town (look it up).

Nobody's suggesting trying to set up a massive financial / industrial capitalist paradise in Afganistan.

Just the prospect of people there being able to work and live some sort of decent life.

It's too easy for those who want a war to recruit from impoverished kids with nothing to lose and who are looking for someone to blame for what they see around them.

As for your last paragraph - you're blathering I don't understand what you're trying to say. Space flight is a waste of money and is also responsible for much of the good things we have? We should fight wars because of technological spin offs?

Personally I'd agree that manned space flight is a waste of money.

Is the nuclear bit a lame attempt at a personal dig? Nuclear fusion research, which is what I was involved in, has no military application or history and relatively few people are employed in nuclear weapons research these days.

[claymore]

no one with half a brain could argue with that Jake ... well said