It's not surprising, really, that Bush is reluctant to face up to the costs of his nation-building project in Iraq. That yawning abyss could easily suck up the hopes and dreams Americans hold for the future. By the time the United States finishes paying for the president's imperial ambitions in the Middle East, there will be little money left for schools or health care or prescription drugs for the elderly -- or even homeland security.

No wonder France and Germany have snubbed this war. While the United States pays the costs of invasion and nation-building, those countries will have more money for their domestic needs: schools, health care, parks and recreation, and environmental clean-up. The European Union could outpace the U.S. because its members will have had the resources to revitalize their most important infrastructure -- their citizens.

Even without counting the invasion of Iraq, the Bush budget proposes to shackle the next generation to an unconscionable burden of debt. With war and occupation, which could easily run to hundreds of billions, your children's grandchildren will be paying off the costs.

» Yahoo! News - COSTS OF WAR WITH IRAQ MAY BE MORE THAN WE CAN BEAR