May 30, 2008 | By Nathaniel Ward

The cost of defeat

A new analysis by two prominent liberal economists finds that the war on terror, including the fight in Iraq, will cost taxpayers up to $5 trillion. But is this estimate right?

Heritage Foundation President Ed Feulner explains that Joseph Stiglitz and Linda Bilmes “are making a political argument, not a serious economic study.” Their analysis, which makes the case for an immediate pullout from Iraq, is based on two false assumptions, Feulner argues.

First, they assume that “expenditures on the Iraq war have no benefits [for America].”

But as Feulner points out, “the war has allowed thousands of terrorists to meet their maker,” while tens of thousands more are in military custody. “That’s quite a few dangerous individuals no longer around to attack Americans,” he explains, citing data showing that global terrorism is waning. Not only that, he continues, Iraq now has a democratic constitution and its people enjoy more freedom than under Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime.

Second, they assume that the war in Iraq has been lost.

Wrong again, Feulner says: “The United States hasn’t lost. Not by a long shot. The ‘surge’ strategy has made major gains, opening the path to victory. And that’s helping us make gains elsewhere.”

“Yes, winning a war is expensive,” Feulner concludes. “But losing would be even more costly. And you can’t put a price tag on true victory.”

Individual liberty in post-Communist Europe

Thanks to a generous grant from the John Templeton Foundation, the American Spectator is publishing a ten-part series of articles on the components of individual liberty as it evolved in the West and the state of individual liberty in the future – not only in the West but in the rest of the world.

The Heritage Foundation is pleased to offer for free download the third article in the series, in which Anne Applebaum explains the fate of individual liberty and civil society in post-Communist Eastern Europe. The article appeared in the April, 2008 issue of the American Spectator.

» Download the article in PDF format

» All articles in this series

Other Heritage work of note

• Energy and Environment. The Senate is now considering harmful legislation that would impose a cap on greenhouse gas emissions in order to curb global warming. Heritage’s Ben Lieberman dispels five common myths about the bill: that it’s not expensive; that consumers don’t have to pay; that global warming is a crisis; that the bill addresses climate change; and that cap-and-trade programs work.

• American Leadership. Almost seven years after America took the offensive in the war on terror, Heritage’s Tony Blankley and Oliver Horn explain, “the U.S. government has done a woeful job in wielding its most effective tool to engage foreign audiences: strategic communication.” In their article, Blankley and Horn review recent proposals that could help America “win hearts and minds abroad.”

In other news

• Under a directive from Gov. David Paterson, New York State will recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states.

• Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) intends to introduce legislation imposing $8 trillion in energy taxes on American consumers—all in the name of combating global warming. Heritage’s weblog, The Foundry, has more.

• The District of Columbia government will likely spend half a million dollars next year lobbying Congress for voting representation for the District of Columbia. Congress should remember that there are ways to solve this problem without violating the Constitution, as a 2007 proposal would have.

• The Associated Press reports on the declining use of English in Miami, where in many areas, “Spanish has become the predominant language, replacing English in everyday life.”

• The economy grew at 0.9 percent pace in the first three months of the year, a faster than previously estimated. Liberals have consistently claimed the economy is in recession, even though recessions are defined as two or more quarters of negative growth.

Coming up at Heritage

To attend these or any other events at Heritage please RSVP at Heritage’s website. Or you can view these events live online. All times are Eastern.

• On Monday, June 2 at noon, former Soviet dissident Natan Sharanksy explains why identity is freedom’s greatest ally in the struggle against tyranny.

• On Tuesday, June 3 at 11:00 a.m., scholar Victor Davis Hanson discusses the relationship between security and freedom.

Nathaniel Ward is the Editor of MyHeritage.org—a website for members and supporters of The Heritage Foundation.

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