The debate over the constitutionality of U.S. involvement in Libya's civil war has obscured what could be a far harder sale for the president. Come the end of September, the costs borne by the American taxpayer for the country's intervention in Libya will surpass $1.1 billion, according to the administration's own accounting.
In the age of austerity, this is hardly chump change. And while the major gripes with U.S. policy center on the strategic purpose of getting involved -- or the legal rationale for choosing to do so -- it is the cost that could bring it all to an end.
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on Thursday defended the $716 million that had already been spent on Libya by June 3.
"It is also important to note that the money that you mention is coming from existing funds," Carney said, during the daily briefing. "There is no request for a supplemental. And it is money that would have been spent on other things like training missions that are being fulfilled by the actual missions being performed. So this is not new money. And we believe that it continues to be in the U.S. interest to participate in this mission in the limited manner that we are participating in it because it is in our interest, within this multinational coalition, to continue to protect Libyan civilians, to continue to enforce the no-fly zone and an arms embargo to give the opposition the time and space that it needs to organize."
So Libya is not really a war because there are not really any "hostilities," and oh by the way guys! It's okay that it's already exceeding our initial cost estimates (because that wasn't wildly fucking obvious to anyone with a pulse). Besides! We already had this money set aside in our existing budget for freedom bombs!
I wonder if misguided, endless wars are part of Obama's vision of Winning the Future.
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