Billions and Billions Wasted

By Neil the Ethical Werewolf

Greg Sargent wants Democrats to make a point of the billions squandered in Iraq.  I agree with commenters that this isn't the central thing to say about foreign policy, or about Iran.  "We'll spend less money" loses to "We'll keep you from getting blown up."   The point to make on Iran is that sensible diplomacy is the best way to keep us from ever being blown up.  By repeated bombing, you can't prevent Iran from ever getting the bomb -- you can only delay it.  And if you bomb their country, they'll be even angrier when they finally get nuclear weapons.  We've got at least 5 years for careful diplomacy and a few Iranian elections to do their work before Iran could get nuclear weapons.  We should be able to get help from the Saudis and other Sunni Arabs, who would be within the range of a Shiite nuclear missile.  (Iran's current level of missile technology doesn't even let them threaten Israel.  I recommend looking at this map.)  So there's no point in going nuts and doing anything drastic now. 

But the point about wasted money is still worth making on the side, particularly if we focus on money wasted through Republican corruption.  It discredits the Republicans on two issues where they've long needed some discrediting --  foreign policy, and efficient government.  It also reinforces the corruption message.