Paying For The War In Libya

So, we are going to war with Libya as part of a coalition. This will subject our military to a third ongoing action. One has to wonder how we are going to pay for all of this. Undoubtedly, the answer will be to borrow again and again.

Let me start off by noting that Gaddafi is clearly bat shit crazy. Let me further note that I am all for democracy and against tyrants. That being said, why is it that we must be involved in this war? Sure, we are seeing other countries step up, but is there really any doubt who is going to be doing the majority of the work?

We are currently running an annual deficit in excess of $1.5 trillion a year. The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office expects the Afganistan and Iraq wars to run us a total of $2.4 trillion when all is said and done. Do we really need another military action?

This raises a serious overall question. What will be the future role of the United States in world affairs? We have long acted as the world’s policeman. While there is a moral imperative to continue doing so, the question is whether we can afford to financially. The budget numbers seem to suggest that we cannot.

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