Ackerman says it "is written with an Etch-a-Sketch." Michael Donley, secretary of the Air Force, estimated "that the war has cost the Air Force about $75 million so far, with expenses running to $4 million a day." That doesn't square with other guesstimates:
Defense Secretary Robert Gates told Congress last week that without a U.S. combat role in the Libya war, he expects the bill to run to $40 million per month. That doesn’t exactly match the Air Force’s tally. By Donley’s figures, if the Air Force slashed its costs for the war in half, it would still exceed Gates’ totals — and that’s not counting the Navy’s contribution.
Sadly, no one really counts the costs of these international welfare programs. Even as the GOP proposes slashing benefits for the poor and elderly. The two great flaws in Ryan's plan – no new revenues and no real cuts in defense – render it, to my mind, courageous but unjust. We should all bear the sacrifice for the war debt and the unaffordable tax cuts that are Bush's legacy.
The Dish 