Why is it that we pay for the troops and war, troops protect private interests (oil) and we dont get repaid?
925906
There are several answers to this question depending on the scope of your "why."  \n\nOn the deepest level, it's because we aren't mobilized into active voting blocs in this country (we're barely even passive voting blocs.)  As such our interests are attended to by our goverment only to a limited extent.\n\nMoving up one, a previous commenter nailed it abut corporate influence on government.  \n\nThis is common in many sectors of the economy- you could easily make this argument about computers and pharmaceuticals.  The first was wholly privately funded and then handed off for profit  without proper taxpayer reimbursement.  The second is funded (mostly R and D) by our taxes to the tune of about 50% ( to make matters worse, we then turn around and pay again at extremely high prices.)  I think it's a good case- the real question is which of these is the bigger sham.
52107
First off, The entire iraqi war on terror was in part to protect the oils assets. Which means the Bush family fortune.\nYes it is a scam. Why else would oil commpany executives and CEOs be questioned and put ontrial and even scolded by our congress. They are making "Not billions" but Trillions of dollars off of common people while our government fabricates things to protect the oil assets. Are they truly in danger? Who knows.\nIts one huge cover up. Europe is used to paying 6 dollars per gallon. So we don't get any sympothy from them at all. They say quite your snivveling. but the truth is we are the ones getting scammed big time! is there anything we common folks can do about it, probably not or at least I am not sure.
1146088
Yeah, seems simple, but when theres tons of money involved, it tends to *uc* things up.  If it were up to me, I would have already nuked that whole damn continent and turned it to glass, with all that sand over there.  People can say "oh the poor innocent civillians" all they want, but the truth of the matter is if it comes down to either us or them, I say tough sh*t, let 'em have it.  They have something we want and they know it, oil.  We should just take over that country, and while we're at it, Iraq, Afganistan, .....etc...   The only problem with that would be the rest of the world would then have to purchase oil from us, which would piss them off.  I do not feel sorry for the people over there.  You can't.  They will not EVER be at peace, its just not in their nature.  They have been at war with someone for as long as any of them can remember, and its not going to change.  Its like its bred into them.  Just think about it, if the US took over and it became a democracy like we have today in America, where the women have total freedom to walk down the street without their damn head covered and have the right to visit a doctor without a male chapperone, all hell would break loose.  They are not like us, it would take years and years before a new generation of middle easterners would have the confidence to do such a thing.  They are a highly exciteable race.  They will scream and cry and fight and totally freak out on your ass at the drop of a hat.  I am not racist, but I do speak the truth.  We are not all the same, people, just admit it.  I used to live in the middle east so I am not just talking trash.  They believe their way of life is right, and ours is wrong.  Which is fine with me.  The only problem I have is when they hate us so much they try to kill us, like flying planes into towers, that sort of thing.  We don't go mess with them just because their religion is different than ours, what gives them the right to do it to us?  I don't think we should pull out of the war, but I do think we are not doing enough, if our men are going to be over there, then at least make it worth US lives.  Lets not feel sorry for the civilians, who walk up to our soldiers carrying their starving children(or a bomb)but lets do the job right, because if not, they will be back another day, just like that pesky mosquito it took to much effort to swat the first time.
354140
It is NOT because of the war. It is because the people that run the oil companies are good friends of the President\n\nThe supply of oil is at an 8 year high. That means that we have more gas available today than we have had in 8 years.\nin any normal business, that would drive the price DOWN but, not oil.\n\nThe CEO of EXXON_MOBILE just got a $400 MILLION dollar bonus. That is 400,000,000 dollars in one year. That is his PERSONAL income, that dosn't even count the BILLIONS of dollars the oil companies make in PROFITS every year.\nIn the past 12 years the CEO of EXXON-MOBILE has made over  a BILLION (yes, a billion $1,000,000,000 dollars of personal income. We all paid for that by buying gas.\n\nThe reason we are paying so much is because the oil companies are greedy bastards that are making $100,000,000,000 of dollars in profits a year and our President is letting them get away with it.That is Anti-American!!!\n\nSome may argue that this is America and business people can charge what they want but in many cases, this one included, that is not really a fact. The oil business is supposed to be regulated. Not anyone can just decide to get into it. The government regulates who can join and who can't.\n\nThe fact is, we are paying WAY too much for gas and Bush'e buddys are literally "laughing all the way to the bank"\n\nAlso, we do not get most of our gas from the Middle East, that's what they try to make us believe. We only get 12-15% of our oil from the Middle East.\n40% of our oil comes from the US itself.\nWe also get a huge percent of our oil from Canada, Mexico and Venezuela.
280990
To us it's about US interests. (oil) To them it's a religous fight for freedom. Going by the last crusade, this might take a while.
742253
I'd like to know exactly what those funds are for, since the soldiers have to do without helmet inserts that protect them from the percussion of explosions, and useful flak jackets, and jeeps held together with bubble gum, rubber bands and prayers.\n\nWhy isn't there a special investigator/investigation into the spending of our money on this "war"?
669969
First of all keep in mind that most of America's oil comes from the middle east...\n\nRight now in Iraq a civil war is on the verge of breaking out b/w the Sunni Muslims and the Shiite Muslims, and our troops are one of the few factors keeping it under control. If civil war did start...the price of oil could go even higher than it is now, meaning that America's fuel and petroleum industries would be crippled, causing a economic depression.\n\nBasically what I'm saying is that while you're thinking of national security in a literal way(protecting America from military attacks), the reason we are fighting is to protect America's national economic security(protecting America from a loss of jobs and money).
601748
It's stocks and big business, weapons manufacturers, Oil Companies, forced inflation. You see it's a lot easier to make more money by raising the prices up then hiring more people to increase your production. You have done nothing but raise the price and collect the money. That is what the Republicans are about. War is is they don't serve in the military, and fight the wars, they just profit from the outcomes of the wars like George Bush, and Cheney have. People mean nothing to them and their people will never be in harms way. George Bush wont even go to Iraq, He sent Tony Blair last week, He is a sissy.
425170
If you talk of planes, armies, food, clothes, and tents  for these armies, bullets, fuel, weapons, telecommunications - I doubt if you can talk cents.  It always involves billions of dollars!  This does not include yet the consequences of war - construction contracts for rehabilitation after a war, trade concessions in exchange for peace pacts, oil reserves.... it is ugly business at the expense of lives and sovereignty.
450859
Why? Because it's costs them less money if they get involved. And how? They either make nice with the government with all the oil and do favors for them, or they just crush the government and put a new one there that will sell it to them at a lower price.
37852
Maybe because of Neo Conservative theories that your party follows.\nAfter all war insn't such a bad thing if you see it from different perspective, it can make lots of money ;)
614455
Federal subsidies to private industry like the oil companies are not only socialist, they come very close to what Mussolini called Fascism. This completely circumvents the idea of risk and supply/demand, and it also degrades the federal government from the position of honest broker over the economy because it is showing favoritism to one competitor over another.
1085158
we only produce 25 percent of what we use they claim so we get it from other allied countries. its bought alot cheaper than you think. the government pays less than half you see at the pumps for regular. there is enough oil and natural gas in the appalation mountains to last 2,000 years. there are other secret sites but they won't touch it as we would be paying 10 cents a gallon. the more they claim we don't have, the more profit they make. they don't want the easy route. it was discovered that we had so much excess oil athat many empty wells were being used to store it secretly, but they got caught to some point. the oil giants control the government.
1102676
Taxes dont work like that..a government/public service is not a choice which benefits just yourself, it benefits the community. You cant say ' i dont want to pay such and such' because someday, you will us that service, and whing when you have to pay! Its a duty we all have to pay , wether we like it or not
1027598
To serve our country and protect your freedoms.  None of us do it for money, most of us live paycheck to paycheck.
1168615
I personally agree. But try telling that to private war contractors, the defense industry, wall street traders and investors, and big oil executives. This is one messed up world. And greed appears to be the most popular sin. By far. It is no contest. And that is the sole reason for ALL wars. Even wars that appear to be religious or cultural disputes. Money is behind every war.
240599
One thing to keep in mind is that anytime money is spent on war it is usually in the form of debt.  Wars are paid for by borrowing money, or by raising taxes.  Neither one of these is desirable.  Eventually someone has to pay for the war.  Just because we spend the money on war does not necessarily mean that that same money would have gone to the poor or other social programs.\n\nGeneral MacArthur summed it up by saying:  "The powers in charge keep us in a perpetual state of fear, keep us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor with the cry of grave national emergency. Always there has been some terrible evil to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it by furnishing the exorbitant sums demanded. Yet, in retrospect, these disasters seem never to have happened, seem never to have been quite real.”\n\nActually, the US gives more than just financial donations.  It provides military presence.  It provides the ability to trade through free trade agreements.  It provides benchmarks for other countries to follow the lead.\n\nThe US does give the highest dollar amount than any other country in the world.\n\nSee the supporting source for an in depth report on how the US aids other countries relative to the rest of the world.