Will the costs of war escalate?

''Of course the number of private contractors - who perform many of the same roles as troops, but for a lot more money - is expected to double.  So this is a funny way of ending combat operations in Iraq.  We are still meddling in their affairs and we are still putting our men and women in danger, and we are still spending money we don’t have.  This looks more like an escalation than a draw-down to me!

The ongoing war in Iraq takes place against a backdrop of economic crisis at home, as fresh numbers indicate that our economic situation is as bad as ever, and getting worse!  Our foreign policy is based on an illusion: that we are actually paying for it.  What we are doing is borrowing and printing the money to maintain our presence overseas.  Americans are seeing the cost of this irresponsible approach as our economic decline continues.  Unemployed Americans have been questioning a policy that ships hundreds of billions of dollars overseas while their own communities crumble and their frustration is growing.''