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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Soul Crusher on November 20, 2009, 01:53:26 PM
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High-Income Tax May Be Needed for Afghan War Cost, Levin Says Share Business ExchangeTwitterFacebook| Email | Print | A A A
By Viola Gienger
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Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said higher-income Americans should be taxed to pay for additional troops sent to Afghanistan and that NATO should provide half of the new soldiers.
An “additional income tax to the upper brackets, folks earning more than $200,000 or $250,000,” could fund more troops, Levin, a Michigan Democrat, said in an interview for Bloomberg Television’s “Political Capital With Al Hunt,” airing this weekend. White House Budget Director Peter Orszag has estimated that each additional soldier in Afghanistan could cost $1 million, for a total that could reach $40 billion if 40,000 more troops are added.
That cost, Levin said, should be paid by wealthier taxpayers. “They have done incredibly well, and I think that it’s important that we pay for it if we possibly can” instead of increasing the federal debt load, the senator said.
Other countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization should bear responsibility for delivering half the additional troops needed to secure the conflict zone and train Afghan forces, Levin said. He didn’t predict how many troops President Barack Obama would add.
Levin also said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who has faced calls for his resignation from Republicans in Congress, should stay as long as he has Obama’s confidence. The six-term senator said the administration was right to move the prosecution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, to federal court in New York from a military commission in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Troop Decision Near
On Afghanistan, Obama may decide within a few weeks whether to grant a request from the top commander in the field, General Stanley McChrystal, for 40,000 more troops to fight the Taliban, which harbored al-Qaeda before being toppled in the invasion following the Sept. 11 attacks. The U.S. contributes about 70,000 of the 110,000 foreign forces fighting the Afghan war.
Levin, who has supported adding U.S. troops to the war mainly to train the Afghan army and police to take over, said he might back an increase closer to 40,000 under certain conditions. They include the proportion that would be used for training, a plan for preparing enough Afghan troops and a “major program” to provide equipment to their forces.
“There’s a lot of other things involved in showing resolve beside just a troop level,” Levin said. A key element to gain support will be “that whatever is announced, it be part of a NATO-Afghan initiative,” he said.
Conditions on Aid
The U.S. also should place conditions on aid that goes through Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s government to ensure that he cooperates in fighting corruption, Levin said. Karzai won re-election by default when his main challenger dropped out of a planned runoff after the first balloting in August was marred by allegations of fraud.
Levin said that while he wanted to be “hopeful” that Karzai would take steps to weed out corruption, “I’m also skeptical.”
Levin commended Pakistan’s leaders for turning more of their attention from their conflict with India to the Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters sheltering near the other border with Afghanistan. Pakistan’s army and its citizens have “taken some very severe losses” in fighting the militants, he said.
“They’ve got a way to go,” Levin said.
He also praised India, saying leaders had shown “restraint” in dealing with “fanatics” who crossed over the border from Pakistan.
On the economy, Levin said Geithner has been “very helpful” on finding ways to support automakers to preserve the industry.
Tighter Regulations
The broader financial crisis has demonstrated the need for tightening regulations on Wall Street, Levin said. He called the Obama administration’s recommendations “very significant.”
“I think the failure to move forward on those reforms in the Senate is the Republican resistance to some of those proposed reforms from the administration, not Democratic resistance,” Levin said.
He also praised proposals for changes from Connecticut Democrat Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee.
Dodd “has put forth a very significant reform of Wall Street,” Levin said. “It is long overdue.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 20, 2009 15:28 EST
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Unreal. This admn is insistent on getting us to 35% UE.
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The cost of war i guess.
If you don't have the stomach for it 333 i guess you should join the anti war protesters.
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The cost of war i guess.
If you don't have the stomach for it 333 i guess you should join the anti war protesters.
I have always said, bring them home or go all out attack. No in between whatsoever.
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This all keeps getting more and more UNREAL as it goes along. How does the world now hold the responsibility of paying for a war that america started over a staged 911 event and a fake Osama Bin Laden? Not to mention taxing the wealthy will only make them transfer that tax to the underclasses by increasing the prices on goods so that they can get their money back.
Sadly most don't realize that america is paying for the war buy selling HEROIN AND OPIUM... why do you think american troops are watching over and increasing the size of the poppy fields in Afghanistan as well as why the sale of HEROIN has increased four fold around the world. This is the same game played in the Iran Contra war headed by Oliver North. He cultivated and sold COCAINE to pay for the war between Iran and Iraq...which america started.
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Samson, you want o laugh, I was trying to explain to Straw why we are heading for a massive wide ranging collapse and I get looked at like I'm nuts.
I will post the article, but even the UK Guardian revealed a story that european banks are counseling their clients to brace for impact. I will post the article.
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Samson, you want o laugh, I was trying to explain to Straw why we are heading for a massive wide ranging collapse and I get looked at like I'm nuts.
I will post the article, but even the UK Guardian revealed a story that european banks are counseling their clients to brace for impact. I will post the article.
?
where did I post on this thread?
I've been saying we should raise taxes to pay for our wars since we invaded Iraq.
Bush was the only Pres to ever lower taxes during a time of war
How fast do you think Bush would have wrapped up thes wars if his "base" had to pay higher taxes to pay for them?
The irony is that the outgoing Clinton administration warned the incoming Bush administration that terrorism should be a top priority and the response from Condi Rice was that their first priority was passing the Bush Tax Cuts (1.6 TRILLION)
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Look Straw, Bush will go down as a bad president for many reasons, among those the ones you just listed.
However, Obama campaigned and begged for the job since he thought he could do better and that he had the answers to the wars.
At this point I think we should declare victory and come home. However, that does not mean we give up our special ops operations and other intel missions and real homeland security stuff.