>SNIP
>>...Historically, economies gain strength during wartime.
>>
>Really?
>
>The U.S. economy certainly did gain big time from WWI and WWII, but that was because the U.S. stayed out of the war and sold arms and related stuff.
>

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I believe that the United States was involved in battles during WWI and WWII, as well as selling supplies, etc. I know that 60 years ago my dad was enjoying his visit to an Island in the Pacific, named Okinawa, while with the 1st Marine Corp Division. As I recall only Holland paid back the United States for what they purchased.
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>I think, economically, none of Germany, Italy or Japan grew economically stronger during the war(s), though all did benefit from the Marshall Plan and other arrangements.
>

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Actually only Europe benefited from the Marshall Plan. Japan had General Douglas Macarthur. :)
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>There may be evidence that the U.S. economy did OK during the Viet-Nam war, but that was really the establishment and corporations getting rich at the expense of the people. Somehow the success of corporations is allowed to rub off as success for those in the country where the corporations are owned. I never did understand that, and never will.
>

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Can you imagine that during the Johnson years we had the Great Society, Vietnam War and the Space Program going on at the same time? In those days we could afford to build freeways and hiways. Today we cannot afford to fill pot holes! But we can afford to rebuild Iraq!
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>Iran and Iraq went broke fighting war with each other, even with the heavy backing of Iraq by the U.S.
>
>The USSR certainly wasn't growing economically during the Afghanistan war, as was proved by the soon-after demise of the whole system there.
>
>The Isreali economy has been having trouble for a long time now and under your theory it should be thriving, what with the Palestinian conflict and the hevy expenses that involves.
>
>**IF** war was good for economies then there would be wars regularly. Imagine, getting rich by warring!