ECONOMICS AND WAR IN LIBYA

A recent article in the Huffington post and referenced in Nbc’s meet the press questioned the U.S. costs of being involved in Libya. Such individuals as Richard Lugar a U.S. senator, Rep. Justin Amash, and. Rep. Bruce Braley have questioned the additional spending required to wage the war, noting that the national debt continues to rise. The individuals listed above along with many other representatives grow more concerned with a lack of accountability for the money spent. In particular Senator Lugar, notes the opportunity cost of the war with Libya noting that rising oil prices and a rising national debt may be prevented if the United States reallocated the nearly 1 billion dollars currently being spent on the war in Libya. Furthermore individuals such as Secretary Gates publicly stated that the war has no identifiable end point and has stepped around the question of U.S. objectives, this has continued to enrage many senators and representatives who believe the money should be spent elsewhere. However Senator Levin and Hillary Clinton have insisted that the U.N support of the war will lessen the finical burden on the United States. The article continues to asses the opportunity cost of the war in Libya questioning the objectives of the war and the lucrative alternatives of not fighting. However the U.N.’s support of peace keeping operations in Libya along with internal struggles in Libya especially human rights violations has spurred great support for the war. This issue doesn’t seem to be going away anytime soon feel free to discuss the implications of fighting the war especially with regards to economics and opportunity cost.

-Blake Andrews