"No lights at the end of the tunnel" for U.S. Economy?

These days, it seems nearly impossible to contend that the war in Iraq is having no effect on the United States economy. While it is not uncommon for Americans to blame our nation's economic woes on whomever the current president may be, this time Americans who are anti-war have double the amount of contempt for George W. Bush. Not only does the war in Iraq continue despite a variety of protests, but now even those who support the war have reason to begin question whether or not the benefits will ever outweigh the turmoil that the war has created in the United States.

Recently, American General David Petraeus stated that currently there "are no lights at the end of the tunnel" in Iraq, that those United States troops currently in Iraq will have to remain in Iraq for an indeterminate amount of time before any hope for what Bush refers to as "victory" will come about. This means that the U.S. government will continue to spend the money of taxpayers to participate in a war that many taxpayers don't agree with. Regardless of whether or not taxpayers advocate the war, the mere possibility that the occupation is having a negative effect on U.S. economy and that there is no end in sight is alarming.

Politicians and economists alike are speaking out about the negative toll that the war in Iraq is taking on our economy. One such politician, Democratic Representative John Yarmuth of Kentucky, stated today that the amount of money that the U.S. has spent and continues to spend in Iraq "is not only linked to our economic skid, but is a leading cause of it." These days, such statements are becoming commonplace as more and more Americans make the connection between the recent decline in the economy and U.S. expenditure in Iraq as it nears half a trillion dollars.

While some economists contend that the war in Iraq has had little effect on our economy over the majority of the past five years, at the very least the contentions to the contrary have caused more Americans to question government spending in general. We can only hope that a "light at the end of the tunnel" will appear soon, especially if those who see government spending in Iraq as detrimental to our economy are correct.