National Security

I believe we need an immediate solution in Iraq and Afghanistan and bring our young men and women home.

What does Afghanistan cost you the taxpayers? 

In 2010, the United States will spend more on Afghanistan than any other country in the world spends on defense, with the exception of China.

Total U.S. defense spending in 2010, however, will be roughly five times greater than China’s military budget.

In 2010, the troop increase in Afghanistan will cost $2.5 billion per month, $82 million per day, $3.4 million per hour, $57,000 per minute, and $951 per second.

Taxpayers in South Carolina will pay $7.7 billion for total Iraq and Afghanistan war spending since 2001. For the same amount of money, the following could have been provided:.

979,434 People Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR

165,013 Police or Sheriff's Patrol Officers for One Year OR

195,450 Firefighters for One Year OR

837,589 Scholarships for University Students for One Year OR

1,381,796 Students receiving Pell Grants of $5550 OR

2,508,658 Children Receiving Low-Income Healthcare for One Year OR

1,096,370 Head Start Slots for Children for One Year OR

1,333,641 Households with Renewable Electricity - Solar Photovoltaic for One Year OR

137,807 Elementary School Teachers for One Year OR

3,556,376 Households with Renewable Electricity-Wind Power for One Year

Notes and Sources
Go to Cost of War Counters

We need to focus on our real threats in North Korea and Iran to ensure our military assets are not stretched to thin.

North Korea

Experts presently believe that North Korea has produced enough fissile material for between 5 and 12 nuclear weapons. North Korea will fully denuclearize only when it has obtained the political assurances that include:

Formal diplomatic relations with the United States, a peace agreement that officially ends the Korean War, and integration into the global economy.

Iran

If the United States hopes for pro-democracy forces to replace the current regime, sanctions are a step in the wrong direction. Stepping up our sanctions against Iran would allow the hardliners the propaganda they need to gain internal political support against the United States and therefore increase the regime’s power.

There is enoug time for the United States, Iran, the IAEA, and other interested parties to resolve the nuclear dispute through diplomacy rather than military intervention.