Presidential Candidate Congressman Dennis Kucinich Renews Call to End the War in Iraq

The Congressional Budget Office's latest report on the costs of the war in Iraq projected that war could end up costing the United States $1.9 trillion by 2017. Dennis Kucinich, a member of Congress and Democratic candidate for president, used the opportunity to re-emphasize his opposition to the war in Iraq in a statement published on his congressional website.

Kucinich asked Americans to consider what they could do with the country could do with $1.9 trillion instead of spending it in Iraq. "Imagine how many students could receive a four-year, quality, college education. Imagine how many people could receive affordable, high-quality health care. Imagine how many homeless people would now have a home," the statement quoted Kucinich as saying.

He went on to note that the costs of the war in Iraq cannot be weighed in terms of money alone. The congressman was quoted as saying that the war had undermined the moral authority of the United States around the world. He lamented that the domestic politcy agenda of the United States was suffering because of the high price being paid to maintain the war. Kucinich also claimed that the U.S. was borrowing money from China to finance the war.

The statement also noted other Congressional Budget Office statistics on the war in Iraq. The CBO has placed the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at $604 billion, with $412 billion of that figure going towards the war in Iraq according to the statement.

Kucinich noted that the amount of money being spent annually on the wars has increased over the years. He presented a solution to problem by asking members of Congress to stop funding the war. The congressman asked his fellow members of congress to tell President Bush that, "We will not give you one more dime for this war."

Dennis Kucinich has been leading opposition to the war in Congress for years now. His congressional website details his actions against the war. In October of 2002 he led more two thirds of Democrats in the House of Representatives in voting against the resolution authorizing the use of force against Iraq. He asked Congress to begin an investigation that would have forced the Bush administration to detail the evidence they used to determine that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, a move blocked by Republicans. Kucinich has also introduced a plan to end the war. The plan calls for the United Nations to assume control of peacekeeping operations in Iraq, as well as control over contracting to rebuild that country. The U.S. would continue to provide funding for the reconstruction of Iraq.