http://www.hillnews.com/thehill/export/The...pEd/111704.html

There's no such thing as a free war

By John Gossert

There’s no such thing as a free lunch. But President Bush and the Congress would have us believe there is such a thing as a free war.

Up to this point, the war in Iraq has been fought by professionals and financed by borrowing. Consequently, a huge majority of the country is insulated from the true costs of the war, contributing neither blood nor treasure.

But if we demand war as a nation, we should pay for it as one.

The history of U.S. wars is one of national sacrifice. From the patriots of our Revolution, to the citizen-soldiers of the Civil War, to the World War II home front, to the draft cards of Vietnam, when the president sends America to war, we all share in the burden. But this war is different.

In past wars our nation has called upon its citizens to defray the costs with cash. While national defense is indeed a public good, with the exceptions of the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American War, the government has increased taxes during every other war the country has waged.

Never in our 229-year history has the government cut taxes in a time of war. Until now. The president has signed two tax cuts into law since the war in Iraq began in March 2003.

In past wars, we have been asked to contribute to the war effort with our time. In the 1940s, we intently watched the updates from the front that preceded movies at our local cinema. Women flocked to the workplace to fill the labor gaps created by deploying soldiers. Senior citizens rehearsed air-raid drills, and children collected tin and rubber.

During Vietnam, we anxiously checked our mailboxes for the notice that we were being called to make the war our full-time job. Some took to the streets in protest.

Every American was a stakeholder; we all contributed in some way. Most of us loved someone who served, and many of us knew of someone who had made the greatest sacrifice.

But today the war is brought home to us mainly by the occasional “Support our Troops” bumper sticker on a passing SUV or the nightly news update we may catch as we are flipping to the ballgame.

The benefits of the war in Iraq are clear. The world is undoubtedly a better place without Saddam Hussein. The United States will be safer if a free and democratic Iraq can persevere in the Middle East. But as is the case with any subsidized good or service, artificially low prices create an inflated demand.

Not surprisingly, a recent ABC News/Washington Post nationwide poll found that roughly half of respondents believe benefits of the Iraq war outweigh the costs and that the war is “worth fighting.” But for most Americans, the costs are measured in other peoples’ lives and other peoples’ money.

Of course, as much as this war “feels” free, the time to pay for it must eventually come. And like a credit-card purchase with a usurious interest rate, the war in Iraq will prove more expensive in the long run.

Some economists would say the government suffers from a high discount rate, valuing smaller short-term benefits at the expense of greater costs in the future.

These costs may include higher taxes, reduced government services and — as a result of sustained deficit spending — higher long-term interest rates. Other non-economic costs could include a military force stretched to the breaking point or the need to call upon civilians to pick up arms for the nation.

Our political leaders have deliberately decided to put off payment until sometime in the future; perhaps when other politicians will be held responsible. As a result, Japanese and Chinese investors along with future taxpayers are paying most of the cost of the war. These three groups have one thing in common: They cannot vote.

There are Americans who do understand the real costs of the war in Iraq: active-duty service members and their loved ones, reservists and National Guardsmen, those who purchase the bonds that support our national debt and some political leaders.

The majority of these stakeholders believe this war is worth the costs. They are uniquely qualified to make such an assessment. But in a nation at war, we all should be.

Gossert is an active-duty Army officer, a former assistant professor of political science at the U.S. Military Academy and a former legislative fellow in the office of Sen. Mark Dayton (D-Minn.).