The USA has payed over 459.5 BILLION dollars for the war in Iraq. i saw this in a newspaper. im searching for a link to a page where you can read about it but ill post it later.

Discuss about the 459.5 Billion. has it been used well? did it work? what could have been done with that money?

~ZiZ

$458.5 Billion = €333 Billion = £226 Billion

Lol no. Worse use of money ever.

That money could have been spent on NASA. They could have used it to develop technology/use current technology to build a base on the moon/mars.

complete waste of $$$.
like what plant said, they could have put it into use with NASA or possibly use the money to improve the economy and pay china back.

Lol, we don't really use our money for anything good. We have been in debt for like ever but yet the government keeps spending money and making us go into more debt that we will never pay off. With that money that they spent, like Plant said, it could have been used for NASA or other things to further knowledge in different scientific fields.

It could've been used for millions of better causes.

Cure aids so the pool can be open.

Rofl

333 Billion could have been used to try and cure cancer as well. But I do wish the pool will open up again.

You guys have closed pools due to aids?
Wow.
I dont
but yeah, they could have done several things like:
Curing Cancer,
Fixing Aids
Boost Economy
Make people richer,
and prices would go down..

using the money for a space hotel is the stupidest idea ive ever heard. that money is supporting the u.s. troops, im glad they spent it.

Ya can't make everyone happy... but if they didn't do the war, they could have split it up, and put 10B here, 10B there, and 10B somewhere else, so everyone is at least content.

ok crade has anything really chnaged in the middle east?

not really

there are so many other things that money could have been used for it was a wast of money and lives

333B Euros is a lot of money to spend to kill 100's of your own citizens. Thats a high class well funded genocide at best.

No, the worst idea ever is sending your trigger happy underqualified army on some hell bent quest to eradicate the civilian population of Iraq.

Why not spend the money on something scientific? Give me a reason why that is crap. Notice I said Base on the Moon/Mars, I did not say Space Hotel. Actually read my post, yes?

Agreed with Cm, they have killed their own too.

So what have they achieved..
All this money could better be spend on america itself.

Waste of money and lives. I'm not american, but I know your health care system isn't one of the best one. They could have spent the money on the hospitals/curing new diseases.

And that's good for what?

Oh for ----'s sake. It is like talking to a 2 year old.

What do you mean what is it good for? Do you realise the the potential for scientific advancement and the development of new technology?

Thank god people with your kind of attitude are rare. If everyone were like you, we'd still be in the Stone Age.

I just think there are more important things than NASA. I'd rather have a cure for cancer than a base on the moon.

Pouring billions of pounds of money into a disease cure might not yield any results.

Building a base on the Moon/Mars would further Scientific Advancements in a number of fields, not just one. However, while studying the effects of reduced gravity on the human body, we may discover the reason why cancer develops, etc...

Not all of that was wasted. We do have *some* success over there. The media only tells you the bad things that happen.

It's like you say:
We MAY discover the reason why cancer develops, etc...
We MIGHT not yield any results.

There is no option in which there is 100% of success, but I think cancer affects more people than reduced gravity.

Cancer cures won't matter when the Earth becomes uninhabitable.

cancer short term / uninhabitable long term.

No, Space Exploration is more important than a disease. Cancer is needed. Without it, our planet would become too highly populated. It already is, diseases just slow the progression down. Without disease, our society would descend into chaos, countries would fight wars for resources, etc...

In the long term, we need to explore space to survive. In 600 Million years time, our planet will not be able to support life. Then we are ----ed. Who the hell would care about cancer then? We'd all die a slow, painful death.

I'm all for saving lives, but we must think logically and toward the future. Cancer can wait. Besides, pouring money into research wouldn't exactly provide results, pouring money in NASA would.

Agreed with Kal and Bliz.

i really think that a cure for cancer is more important than a moon base .

in any way we dont have much proof of the possibility of life in the space, and there was no life in the moon, then why spend so much money in a so useless way?

i think that that money should be only used for humanity's good, not for the USA and NASA questions:

aww, the moon is so nice, lets spend this cash in a stupid moon base, as the civilians will pay up in taxes all the money we spent, so we have the possibility to admire the earth from another way...

i'm still sure that there is NO ACTUALLY CLEVER LIFE in the space, and if they still are thinking that there is no life, whit their ipothesis, then why don't they spend that cash on a cure for AIDS, HID, cancer, and all the bad things on the planet? if it was a try, better, they could have demonstrated that they have a bitty of humanity in their mind...

Space Colonization Vs Diseases Please.

Ok, here we go;

Having a Moon Base/Mars Base is the basis for an exploration of the Solar System. In the long term, we need to do that. If we just concentrate on trying to cure diseases, we'll be stuck on this Planet until our species dies. New diseases are "popping" up all the time, so if we have to try and cure everyone of them, we will never achieve that.

I laughed at your next sentence. Don't you think what NASA is doing is for Humanity? Oh ok, they send probes to Mars, etc... for fun?

"Hey everyone, we have a bit of cash, why don't we uh, send a probe to Pluto to check how hot it is, because if it is anything more than -200Celsius, I'm too cool to go there."

Listen, this thread is about the better use that 333 Billion Euros could have gone to. We are not debating whether or not NASA should receive more money. (They should receive whatever they want as far as I'm concerned, as should any Space Agency.)

A base on another Planet/Moon is not stupid. Please explain how it is.

How can you be sure there is no intelligent life in space? It is practically impossible that there are not other intelligences superior to ourselves out there. We are a stupid race, we haven't even set foot on another planet yet.

As I said in a previous post, diseases are needed to regulate the planet's population. Think about if everyone from History who died from a disease were still alive. Think if their relatives were still alive. How many people would this planet have on it?

Plant, you realize that space colonization will take far more than 333 Billion Euro. It will also take far more time that the war in Iraq will.

A base on the moon or another planet is not only far fetched and stupid at this time, but it would be irresponsible to address that as a main concern of politics. There are many more things to deal with not only in science, but more specifically in space.

Don't you think we should prove what is causing "Global Warming." (Not that I believe it is occurring.
I find it ridiculous that you, one of the believers of the Polar Axis Swap Theory (or at least I thought you were) would propose that we need an exit plan from Earth.
If anything, those of us that believe it should support research into ways to deal with an increase in heat and decrease in oxygen.

I'm not saying I support spending the 333 Billion Euro on the war, but I would rather have spent it on a war that took out a dangerous regime, is taking out high ranking terrorists often, and as far as I can tell, producing results than spend it on a silly idea like a Moon Base.

i think before we can cure cancer we should atleast be able to cure a cold

Are you serious? At least people survive common colds. People die from cancer. It really doesn't take that much to cure a cold. Just lots of fluids and rest and stuff.

Actually Kev, there is no cure for the common cold. If there was a cure, then people would stop getting them.

Agh yeah but it still is less serious then cancer

333billion euros is $458,540,634,166, or £226,060,532,964

So holy crap, that's over $450bil. Money not well spent I might add.

I realise that Space Colonization will take more than 333 Billion Euro. However, It is quite probable that for that amount of money, a research station (Base) could be established on the Moon. Space Colonization is out of our reach at the moment, we just don't have the technology, nor the government funding backing up their Space Agencies.

If every Space Agency came together to form just one, we'd get a whole lot more done. For example, the ESA. We don't need 4 different countries sending men to the Moon, if they all joined up, the costs would be cut and only a quarter of that amount would be spent, the rest going to other missions, etc...

However, I realise that that is not feasible with the current political climate, which is a shame to be honest.

It isn't far fetched, NASA plans to have a permanent base on the moon by the early 2020's. Search "Vision For Space Exploration" up.

I know Space isn't very popular and doesn't hold much pulling power when talking Politics, which is wrong in my opinion. People should vote/support for the candidate who will further Scientific Advancement with his/her policies. Ultimately, it would lead to an increase in the standard of living almost everywhere.

You can't prove beyond a doubt that Global Warming is/is not occurring. There is just too much evidence on either side to mount a doubt-free argument. Even if it is, there are ways to "fix" (can't think of a better word) it, for example the suggestion that Mirrors in Space could decrease the amount of Sunlight reaching the Earth.

We need an exit plan from Earth because even if Global Warming is not occurring and we have stable temperatures, it will not stay the same. In 600 million years time, this planet will be uninhabitable. We are currently living near the end of the Planet's life supporting stage.

The regime was no direct threat to the west. The U.S and Britain made up all the "evidence" they had to show that;

1. Possession of WMD's.
2. They were doing to be used against the West soon.

I agree with all of you points except the last.

Yes, there were no WMD's, but in theory, who is to say that now that Iran has nuclear capabilities their technology/products wouldn't have been stolen/sold to Iraq. And to be honest, I trust Iran with a bomb a hell of a lot more than I would ever have trusted Sadam.

I wouldn't trust any country with a nuclear bomb. The very fact that they have the bomb says a lot.

I think that Iran would keep it to themselves, they would want to be the main power in the area.

Sorry for the off-topicness, but the common cold is not one real disease, it mutates constantly, otherwise we would only get it once. Every time you get the common cold it is a completely different thing than the last time.

Many diseases mutate. There won't be a cure for the cold so long as cold and flu treatments are such a lucrative area for pharmaceutical companies.

Anyway, Plant, I see little point in plowing money into Space programmes if all that's going to happen is we get to space and find new ways to blow ourselves up. Unless you fix the problems inherent in the ideas of nationalism and competition and strive to actually work together to mutually build rhe best things we can, there's no point in shovelling money into a black hole.

However, it is at least a black hole which doesn't currently kill people, unlike the Iraq debacle.

nuclear bombs are the most pointless weopens in the world because after they are droped the area becomes virtualy uninhabitable.



don't almost all viruses mutate and isn't cancer a virus? please corect me if i am rong as i verry well might be.

Thats true.

But yeah, I agree with Plant with the Scientific things, we've been waiting to find a planet that can sustain life, or find other life forms.

Using the money to cure people may not be sucessful.

1.how can you put a price tag on lifes of people that have been killed or would be dead without the money being spent
2.and plant building a base on the moon!!! And you said the war was a waste of money
3.maybe you all should think about #1 alittle. Without this money being spent who knows how many other places in the usa would have been bombed.
HAVE A GOOD DAY EVERY1!!!!!!!!!
ps the money could have been used to help the war better. We could have used the money on building more technology to help win the war faster.

LMFAO. HOLY CRAP. Do you write your own material? Because seriously, that is funny. In a sad way for you though.

Listen up;

Without the money being spent, there would have been no war, so none of your soldiers would have died for a pointless cause.

Scientific Exploration a waste of money? I don't even need to debate that one.

Your third point makes no sense. Come to think of it, neither does most of your post. America has not been "bombed" recently. Have I missed a major world event?

how do i builded technology?

Think before you post, ffs. I seriously lol'd at your lack of knowledge on the subject at hand.

LOL AT WHOLE POST @ BBKING.

Science is never a waste of $$.

US hasn't been bombed since Pearl Harbor.
Now were sorta kinda threatened by Iran.

I'm not going to get into this more, but I totally agree with Plant.

Oklahoma City Bombing

Going to Iraq is Good But a few Years over there isn't really helping. Instead of going for The small foot soldiers that they have we need to work more on the top ranking officials that organize the Attacks.

Plant is Right a Moon base is Going to happen probably in the next 10-20 years or more. Science is never a waste of money, neither is exploring the unexplored. Going into space and establishing a base or research center will give scientist a chance to to do experiments that they normally couldn't do on earth.

Curing the common is on the last last of are lists with Cancer, Aids, birth deformations, and other deadly viruses and sicknesses.

What About Spending it on a Good Way of Solar Power? I am not talking about global warming I am talkign about Are Oil Supply Running out and Us with no major fuel source. Ethanol or Bio Diesel Could Power are cars and Solar Power Would Power Are Houses. Remember Ethanol Still Lets out green house gases mabye not as much as gasoline but it still lets them out.

Why do we need a base on the moon or mars?
And I don't think its that much cash being spent.
If it is its money well spent Imo :S

Someday the US will go bankrupt from doing this type of ----.

Lol we are.

We owe China 9 Billion Dollars,
and theres a possibility that social security will not have enough money to pay for peoples retirement funds by 2042.

Do you know where all that $$ comes from?

It comes from no where, they just loaned it from themselves.
Really, Bush loaned it from the US Government, so you tell me.

---- I hate debate...

We don't owe china anything btw.

I don't do very well on US politics, so if I'm completely wrong, please tell me.

I think the war was right and wrong. Partially due to nepotism, partially due to bad decisions, and mainly because the US was just to insecure.

1. Nepotism is when a high ranking official *bush* elects members of his family/relatives into high ranking positions. This didn't happen in the army so much as it did in politics, and what do you get? Some hillbilly who has no idea how to make decisions. If you appoint these people as 'heads' of the army, then they make stupid decisions that affect the army.

2. Bad decisions, the invasion was just done wrong. There was little to no tactical analysis and I will show why in my next point.

3. They invaded Iraq with a hot head. They were pissed and they didn't like what the middle east was doing. So they thought lets just do it how it used to work. Pretty much brute force has always been useful for the US, just charge in and take it all. They needed more planning, they didn't have it.


*This post is based on suspicions and what I have heard mainly, but I'm fairly positive about the nepotism

His Brother was Being the Governor of Florida before Bush was even elected

yeah, there was a bigger story about it, I just can't remember though.