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THE UNITED STATES has spent $2.7 billion (€2.4 billion) to date in its campaign against the so-called Islamic State (IS), new figures released by the Pentagon show.
That works out at more than $9 million (€8 million) per day.
About two-thirds of that figure is spent on the Air Force, according to the BBC.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a $579 billion (€516 million) defence spending bill that offers a slight pay raise to US troops, but reflects deep divisions on budget priorities and whether President Barack Obama needs new war powers to fight IS.
The vote was 278 to 149 in favour of the bill, which drew stiff opposition from Democrats because it uses a war-fighting account to raise defence spending next year.
The measure gives Obama roughly all the money he requested for defense, but does so by hiking the war-fighting account — which is not subject to congressional spending caps — by almost $40 billion (€35 billion).
This week, the White House announced another 450 advisers will be sent to Iraq in a bid to reverse gains by IS. This brings the total military personnel there to 3,500.
IS seized Ramadi, a predominately Sunni city near Baghdad, last month.
- with reporting by AP
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Apple are making $150m per day net profit. They could fight 18 ISs and still turn a profit. Mind boggling. Off topic, but mind boggling.
At this rate Apple will be looking to enter the market with their latest innovation. the iBomb. Two times the price of a JDAM with zero guidance capabilities.
They must have some serious wide screen monitors for the massive excel spreadsheets needed to account for all that spending, those as some BIG numbers!
T’would feed a lot of people and cure a lot of disease.
You can’t cure diseases or stop world hunger by throwing money at the problem and hoping it solves itself out. Research, like anything else, is heavily affected by the laws of diminishing returns meaning the more money you put in doesn’t mean the more results you get out in the end.
Throwing food at the hungry never addresses the core reason behind why they’re hungry in the first place. Investing in projects which provide jobs and infrastructure so the hungry can feed themselves is the only effective way.
Ever the optimist.
It’s called being realistic. We’ve been throwing money at Africa for the last 20 years and all that has achieved is making sure that some batshit insane African dictators can oppress their people from the luxury of their brand-new luxury European limousine.
The money spent on this bombing campaign has taken a huge toll on ISIS, arguably preventing them from seizing major Syrian urban areas and sparing the population from oppressive misery.
Thought they were trying to cure a disease….
You and I surely don’t have the answer to world hunger but €8 bill a day wouldn’t do any harm directly or indirectly.
I wonder how much they spend funding them?
$0 from all evidence which has been put forward so far.
Any you believe that? Who were all these rebel fighters who were fighting the Assad regime? And where did they get their weaponry from. In some way or another they have received American weapons.
It’s not like they could’ve captured American equipment from the Iraqi army or anything….
we must nearly spend that ourselves on ministerial pensions
Well get your money’s worth and blow them all to pieces.
Worth every cent
If a study shows each drone strike creates four times times more radicalised people than it kills does the value for money go down?
When will hard working, tax paying Americans wake up ?
It’s not in Americas interest to completely defeat ISIS.
The creation of ISIS has been carefully planed for many years in order to create havoc and chaos in the oil rich ME. The principle, is and always has been “Divide and rule” Total control of resources being the prime objective. To realize this, first of all, national states must be destroyed and their Governments overthrown. Iraq, Libya, Syria etc. Millions of people have been murdered, and many millions more displaced in the past decade, resulting from this strategy . This of course creates much hatred in their respective communities, in regard to the west. Their friends, family members ect have been wiped out for, they know not why.The sad part of all this is that ordinary citizens going about their daily business, invariably become the victims of this hate, and not the people who personally planed this catastrophe.
2012 Defense Intelligence Agency document: West will facilitate rise of Islamic State “in order to isolate the Syrian regime”
Newly-Declassified U.S. Government Documents: The West Supported the Creation of ISIS
http://levantreport.com/2015/05/19/2012-defense-intelligence-agency-document-west-will-facilitate-rise-of-islamic-state-in-order-to-isolate-the-syrian-regime/
DIA Docs: West Wants a “Salafist Principality in Eastern Syria”?
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/05/dia-docs-west-wants-a-salafist-principality-in-eastern-syria.html
You are posing a hypothetical question based on fatuous supposition, at try and argue the point on real facts
General Wesley Clark explains ISIS was created by U.S. Allies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ojcoKnTGf4s
Biden blames US allies in Middle East for rise of ISIS
http://rt.com/news/192880-biden-isis-us-allies/
Sanctions on these close allied States ? No, but weapon deals with US. UK and France in the past few months involving many billions of dollars supporting terrorists indirectly through the back door .
Former Republican congressman, and Republican presidential candidate, Dr Ron Paul claims : New Evidence US Backed ISIS
http://truthinmedia.com/dr-ron-paul-new-evidence-us-backed-isis/
The fact that you even use RT as a source says everything about your arguments.
America is Behind ISIS: Washington Confesses to Backing “Questionable Actors” in Syria
http://www.globalresearch.ca/america-is-behind-isis-washington-confesses-to-backing-questionable-actors-in-syria/5451556
Like Sky,Fox, and BBC would be any better than RT?
UN: Proven Ties Between ISIS And Israel
http://yournewswire.com/un-proven-ties-between-isis-and-israel/
That’s why I don’t use any of those sources either, Mr. Dave, and would be critical of anyone using them as a source as well.
Our media today : All a big lie and based on deception.
Non-Official Cover” – Respected German Journalist Blows Whistle on How the CIA Controls the Media
Udo Ulfkotte, a former editor of one of Germany’s main daily publications, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Whether you want to admit it or not, CIA control of the media in the U.S. and abroad is not conspiracy theory, it is conspiracy fact.
http://libertyblitzkrieg.com/2014/10/08/non-official-cover-respected-german-journalist-blows-whistle-on-how-the-cia-controls-the-media/
We are been lied to about ISIS, appealing to and exploiting our most vulnerable instincts of fear and survival. Judging from the comments here this propaganda has been extremely successful.
Many lorries daily cross the Turkish border near a US. army base, supplying ISIS with arms and fighters. Two German TV teams have recorded this abnormality. Also Known ISIS leaders crossing the border in both directions devoid of hindrance or control. What they forgot to show were the many lorries daily crossing in the opposite direction loaded with stolen oil from Iraq and Syria from which ISIS earn an estimated 2 to 3 million Dollars daily. Which banks are washing this money ? HSBC again ?
A German news report – with English subtitles captions – shows that Turkey is sending terrorists into Syria:
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/09/turkey-israel-directly-supporting-isis-al-qaeda-syria.html
Guardian Jordan training terr*rists
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/08/west-training-syrian-rebels-jordan
ISIS Supply Lines Originate in NATO’s Turkey : Report
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article40347.htm
ISIL is part of a giant psychological operation to feed, breed Islamophobia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I8ZjfhZIl4Q
@ Pat, Thankyou for speaking the truth I’m noticing lately that such subject matter is getting more likes than dislikes! People are starting to wake up :) I enjoyed reading your comments!
John, likes mean absolutely nothing as anyone with a brain can generate as many as they want. Yesterday pro-American comments were receiving much more likes than conspiracy posts. It varies on a day-to-day basis.
@ John Donnelly : Facts,facts, FACTS.
@ Jason I was the head of that debate yesterday that you mention!! On every comment in my debate I received a larger amount of positives than negatives, I think you should have gone to specsavers! To you it means nothing and that is your prerogative! And finally I was not addressing you!
• RT’s 2015 budget: $220 million / €193 million / £143 million
• US-government funded BBG in 2015: $721 million
• BBC World Service: $375 million / £245 million (rough annual budget)
• Deutsche Welle (Germany’s publicly funded broadcaster): $332 million / €294 million
Put another way: The budgets of RT, Sputnik and Rossiya Segodnya combined are still smaller than the funding received by the BBG and the BBC World Service.
” $579 billion (€516 million) ” …. Fridays Eh…
That’s a serious exchange rate!
The country Is tens if not hundreds of trillions in debt. money ain’t and won’t be an issue
They’re also owed trillions in debt as well. National debt isn’t just a one-way bottomless pit of money, it’s mostly countries borrowing and lending in the hopes of turning a profit.
Not nearly as much as their debt and you know it
Why would they need to? The fact that the vast majority of international currency exchange is conducted in US Dollars, combined with the fact that they are the single largest economy in the world, means they can afford to have a little debt.
Their debt, while high, is not unsustainable at this point in time for such a massive economy.
Look at my original comment “not an issue”.
Kevin the US debt has exploded under far left Barack Obama. You are a champion of the left so mass entitlements and big government spending should please you.
No it exploded under the bushes as they messed up the middle east and created Isis. not a fan of Obama but he is better than bush by a long shot
Thats excluding fighting IS in Syria? Since they’re not..
If you believe that figure you will believe anything , 8 million a minute i’d say. Do you have any idea how expensive aircraft alone are to run, arm and maintain., never mind an carrier group with 12 ships+ , I’d say 8 million doesn’t even cover food/wages etc.
I think you are forgetting that the aircraft and ships are run, armed and maintained even in peacetime, and the troops are paid whether at home base or at war. The extra costs would be extra ammo, fuel, and the cost of transporting everything to the war zone.
John Collins. … when you say “blow them all to pieces” were you referring to ISIS or those In receipt of ministerial pensions? Just for clarification purposes though I’d agree either way.
Bobby a few ministerial suicide bombers might be the way forward.
Jason, eh, that’s because its done covertly through 3rd. Party client states. ISIS is just another CIA creation, like al Qaeda.
So it’s being done on such a covert level that only internet conspiracy theorists who have a track record of being proven wrong 99.9% of the time are aware of it?
So who created the IRA and why were they formed? The British Empire can take credit for that. Same crap, different toilet.
People have tried multiple times to compare ISIS to the IRA and it is, to be frank, a complete non-runner. The situation is entirely different.
One is a group of religious nut-jobs who are attempting to take advantage of a civil war to create a religious dictatorship, the other (assuming we’re talking about the first iteration and not the latter iteration of Troubles infamy) was a rebellion to overthrow a foreign administration.
@Denis
So what you’re effectively saying is that you have nothing to go on apart from speculation?
They both use the same logic, albeit with different circumstances. Both are pissed off with foreign meddling/administration/foreign policy.
Give the peshmerga the best equipment and let them off the leash.
The problem with arming the Peshmerga is that you’re basically fueling the next regional conflict. Once a large, powerful Kurdish army has been created you’re talking about another civil war in Iraq, Syria and Turkey to form a united Kurdistan.
I’d make a donation to the war effort to get rid of these mediaeval tyrants
We’ll just have to wait for that information to become declassified Jason.
Sorry my device is sending my replies all over the shop. Probably the work of the CIA.
The US invasion and their tactics of trying to counterbalance sectarian groups against each other has laid the groundwork for the Islamic State’s existence
And unsurprisingly no outcry over Saudi Arabia bombing UNESCO heritage sites in Yemen
War is Good for Business.
Obviously not helping all that money
It is, look at a map of Syria and Iraq from before the US-led bombing campaign and after it. Since the US has gotten involved, ISIS’ dramatic territorial gains ground down almost to a complete stop. Now they’re involved in a constant back-and-forth campaign with little net territorial gain.
Well Obama did admit that he still doesn’t have a cohesive plan to tackle ISIS. This is the leader of the free world were talking about and he still hasn’t developed a plan to stop these animals.
There is no plan because Obama is trying to avoid sending troops back to Iraq at all costs. It would be a massive blow to his political position if he had to backtrack on such a pinnacle point of his election campaign.
That being said US troops being deployed to the region in large numbers could serve to further destabilise the region resulting in more terrorist groups appearing. It isn’t exactly an easy situation for anyone to figure out.
Ok I’m listening Jason lets hear the evidence.
Firstly, you are perfectly capable of replying which would make it easier to keep track. Secondly it is people like yourself who have been claiming, without any proof, that the US is behind ISIS. Not one single shred of evidence has been put forward for the last 2 years that the US is backing any extremist groups in Syria.
And no evidence to the contrary.
You can’t prove a negative
Sean, the lack of evidence 2 years later would be a very strong indicator that there is no evidence in the first place. The sudden halt in ISIS’ dramatic expansion once the US starting bombing them to pieces is another.
No American equipment in their hands, no American money in their accounts, no photographic or written evidence supporting it. No whistleblowers of any credit or news agencies of any worth coming forward.
That says a lot.
Jason, you’re obviously an intelligent bloke but your over reliance on the “bald facts” of the day are leading you down a blind alley. It’s as much a leap of faith to believe the facts as presented and hope that it is reliably reported than it is to use your intelligence to discern what facts have been left out. If you’re interested in history as I’m sure you are, you’ll know that the facts of the day were sometimes misleading or in some cases not the facts at all. If you were to just blindly follow the narrative that was presented back then as you do now, you would have in some cases been utterly wrong. Now I’m no conspiracy theorist but I do leave a little room for my own interpretation on matters and I know for a fact I wouldn’t lie to myself.
Spends 8m fighting while probably making twice that selling them arms.
Waste of money
how much does the US spend funding isis? its their proxy army and their backdoor to topple assad. isis isil is or whatever they are being called this week were not even heard of before the fake chemical weapons stunt backfired prior to that they were known as the moderate syrian rebels with people like john mccain and tony blair looking for the west to arm them.
the are the new alCIAda. any place the US want to get into terrorists suddenly appear to justify an invasion. its wag the dog stuff. people should watch that movie.
What would be better for Israel ? A strong and unified arab Middle East or one ripping itself apart in sectarian conflicts ? The divide and conquer strategy is to be seen everywhere in the Middle East today
There is ” BIG MONEY ” in weapons !
Ban Islam , problem solved .
Until we get a leader with the balls to use a nuclear weapon on these vermin they will just keep going. When America used those 2 atomic bombs in ww2 the japs weren’t long raising the white flag.
Yesterday, the House of Representatives approved a $579 billion (€516 million) defence spen – since when did the above mentioned two figures equate – when I was at school they had very different values !
Mad stuff this, giving them weapons then killing them costing millions?? Crazy or what!!!
You spelt “arming” wrong
We spend more than that on the Irish Language and associated activities everyday, at a time when we are borrowing Billions just to pay the interest on our debt.
have your say