U.S.-Led War
on ISIL will Bankrupt House of Saud (FARS News Agency, Iran)
Is the Saudi royal family about to learn the same painful lesson that the United States learned in the course of its recent ill-fated wars? This editorial from Iran's state-run FARS News Agency warns the House of Saud that paying the Pentagon's bills in this the Middle East conflict will end the same for them as for the Americans before: with 'bankruptcy'. The charge that Saudi Arabia is paying for the air war, which sounds believable, has not been confirmed by other media.
TEHRAN: According to the "penniless" Pentagon, a
single Tomahawk or Hellfire missile strike against ISIL
involving F-15s, F-16s or F-22s - costs up to $500,000! The Pentagon just
revealed that since June, it has spent no less than $1.1 billion against ISIL.
But no worries! There is a reason why the detail-oriented Pentagon
accountants are so good at calculating the astronomical costs of the illegal air
wars in Iraq and Syria: Saudi Arabia is footing the bill.
[Editorial Note: According to the Army Times, the money spent so far against ISIL has come from the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) budget - money designated for military operations abroad. Over the last fiscal year, that was equal to around $66 billion for the conduct of operations in Afghanistan and elsewhere.]
So not surprisingly, the political class in Washington is in
no hurry to wrap up its "ineffective air campaign" against the Obama-designed
proxy forces: Secretary of State John Kerry says "Washington's military
campaign against ISIL will take years and will stop
only when the terrorist group is incapacitated."
Dancing to the same tune, President Obama says, "The U.S.
military will expand its bombing campaign against ISIL
terrorists. The offensive is not going to be a brief one and will take years to
end."
At the other working end of the equation, there is also good
reason for Obama to repeatedly say that his newest war will not include U.S.
ground troops: According to official Washington, for every one of the 866,181
soldiers officially listed as injured in Iraq and Afghanistan, the government
is expected to spend some $2 million on long-term medical costs.
The figure of $2 million per casualty serves as a stark
reminder of how the United States and its veterans will suffer if official
Washington eventually decides to put new boots on the ground in Iraq and Syria.
Again though - no worries: If at the end of this "LONG WAR," Saudi
Arabia is not yet bankrupt and has some petrodollars left to pay the bill for
injured veterans, boots on the ground will be on the menu as well.
History teaches that the financial commitments to a war don't
end with the withdrawal of troops or the signing of peace treaties. Soldiers may
pull out, but they carry with them injuries that will take years to treat - in
many cases, for the rest of their lives.
History also teaches that previous wars on Afghanistan and
Iraq - which were based on lies and paid for by American taxpayers - ended with
America being beaten and bankrupt! No wonder the political class in Washington isn't
paying for the newest war - they have no money!
As far as the House of Saud and its foolish agenda for
regime change in Damascus and
Baghdad, it hasn't a clue what awaits it: They will gain nothing from this. America
was far bigger and far wealthier than Saudi Arabia – yet still it was defeated
and went bankrupt on the back of two illegal wars. There is no reason to think it
will be any different this time. The newest war - under the pretext of fighting
ISIL - will not succeed and will end with an
insolvent Saudi Arabia.
In any case, the big picture remains the same: Total defeat
and bankruptcy. The officials at the Pentagon see this - they have learned a thing
or two from their excessive wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. But they don't give a
damn: Saudi Arabia and its pathetic
club (Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain) are paying
the price and the astronomical bills for America's "LONG WAR" of air
raids, precision-guided bombings, laser spotters, Tomahawk and Hellfire
missiles, and maybe, just maybe, injured American veterans, war widows and
orphans.
