The Iraq War Essay Example for Free

The Iraq War Essay Since the beginning of the war analysts have been trying to estimate the cost of the war versus the benefits that have been realized as a result of the war. Some of the benefits of the war are; refusal to go to war and containment of Saddam would be more destructive; a more stable middle east; a probable drop in world oil prices if the oil markets stabilize after the war. Opportunity Cost Exceed the War On the other side, the war has created problems and loss of opportunity cost. A closer look at things on the ground reveals that the opportunity costs of the war exceeds the benefits. The cost of the war is estimated to range from $44 billion to almost $2trillion though that is very variable depending on the length of time and intensity. At the current rate it costs $400,000 to retain a soldier in Iraq. Every single dollar spent on the war is a diversion of investment money, scholarships for our students in universities, coverage for all uninsured children etc. More hostility have been directed to the US by countries that supported Saddam and Americans making the world have lost faith in the Bush administration since there were no weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq and mind you this was the main reason of going to war. The war has not only affected the US but the whole world at large either economically or socially. World oil prices have shot up from $25 a barrel before the war to $100 now. What this has done is that the US and other countries that do not have oil are transferring their foreign exchange from other suitable destinations to the oil rich countries like Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. As such we have seen the US dollar decline in value world wide. From this argument we see that the opportunity costs exceed the benefits of the war.