Equipment costs are as follows: $55 bullets; million-dollar cruise missiles; $4 billion aircraft carriers and $50 million jets on board (Stark): The economy was bound to take a beating.
Everyday costs include supplying fuel, delivering foodstuff, and building laundry facilities for the soldiers in the region (Stark).
The cost rose further after Iraq was occupied, and will continue to rise depending upon the duration of the occupation. Bringing peace to Iraq is more expensive than fighting against it as it requires more inflow of troops, and it may take years to reconstruct the devastated infrastructure and restore the war ravaged population with humanitarian aid (Stark).
However, some believe it to be a small total as compared to the aggregate bulk of the US economy (Francis).
Indirect cost of war
Constant fear of surprise attacks, maybe of higher magnitude than 9/11, is not making life any easier for the general population.
The stock market has been especially vulnerable to perceptions of how long the war is going to last (Stark).
The airlines industry has been one of the biggest victims. Delta and American Airlines have cut down on the number of flights and Northwest and Continental have sacked over six thousand employees. In spite of the airline industry’s insistence that the government provide financial relief, lest some airlines go bankrupt, there have been no commitments from Washington. (Stark).
Backlash on the economy
Gas prices rose up sharply, stock prices plummeted, consumers and businesses went into a state of paralysis, and finally widespread unemployment is adding to the ever-increasing burden on Americans. The war and stringent homeland security measures are adding up to a $250 billion dollar deficit. (Stark)
Some believe that certain countries can be influenced into providing clandestine assistance to America during the war. Experts also believe that removing Iraq from the rogue state list and facilitating its full participation in the international energy market would lower oil prices and as a result positively affect the global economy and certainly the US economy (LaFranchi).
However, “Events such as casualty-heavy urban fighting, a failure to take out Hussein, or a desperate Hussein successfully sending missiles or biological weapons into Israel or Saudi Arabia would almost certainly drag down the world economy” (LaFranchi, 2002) and the economy of the sole superpower as well. This has not happened, but fingers all over the world are crossed for other surprises.
Conclusion
If the conflict prolongs, the economy will certainly go into recession. A quick resolution would somewhat restore investors’ confidence. However, not all analysts agree on this. “Steadily rising unemployment, mounting consumer debt loads, a corporate sector that is still struggling to maintain growth, and lingering worries over other global hotspots like North Korea will still likely keep the economy subdued in the months to come” (Valenti).
REFERENCES
LaFranchi, Howard. Iraq war to carry a high tab. Accessed from World Wide Web: <>
Francis, David R. The Price of War and Peace for US Economy. Accessed from World Wide Web. <http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/2002/1125price.htm>
Stark, Betsy. War’s economic impact. The Prospect of a Long War Threatens the Economy’s Health. Accessed from World Wide Web: <http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/GoodMorningAmerica/iraq_economicimpact_030325.html>
Valenti, Catherine. Weighing the War. Even With Prospect of Quick Conflict, Worries Hit U.S. Economy, Markets. Accessed from World Wide Web: <http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/World/iraq_economy_030320.html>
Stark, Betsy. Tallying the Cost of war. Billions For War Effort Add to Economic Strain of Deficits, Tax Cuts. Accessed from World Wide Web: <http://abcnews.go.com/sections/business/WorldNewsTonight/stark_warcosts_030321.html>
