January 16 - The insanity of war

I heard this morning that the war in Iraq is costing $8 million per minute. That's obscene! I thought the number must surely be inflated but then considered the issue and realised that when the US goes to war they set up entire "cities" in the conflict area. These cities provide accomodation for the troops, commanders and support crews and supply food, security and entertainment. I read somewhere that the rations for every soldier are huge and the logistics of food preparation and supply alone would be a gigantic operation. So it's no wonder that the cost is also gigantic.

I remember reading a joke somewhere that it would be interesting if the US military could swap their funding with the US education system and the military had to fund their operations through raffles and cake stalls. (Then maybe they'd have a more intelligent population that could see the alternatives to warfare as a means of conflict resolution)

Since the bombs first started falling on Bagdad I've wondered what damage is being done to the atmosphere and the environment by the tonnes and tonnes of munitions being exploded at an enormous rate. It makes a joke of the whole issue of concern about the environment.

It also seems to me that war is one consequence of the overpopulation problem that came up yesterday.

Here's my book entry on the subject -