A Tomahawk cruise missile is 18 feet, 3 inches in length, or 20 feet, 6 inches with booster, which is about the length of a Winnebago Vista. It weighs 2,900 pounds, or 3,500 pounds with booster. It has a wingspan of 8 feet, 9 inches and a diameter of 20.4 inches. It carries 1,000 pounds of conventional submunitions dispenser with bomblets or can carry a 250-kiloton thermonuclear device. Each missile costs $1.4 million to $2 million, depending upon accessories.

At the beginning of the invasion of Iraq, the U.S. government announced a plan to drop between 300 and 800 of these missiles on Baghdad. At the minimum number of the lowest-cost missiles, the cost was approximately $420 million. That would be the cost of the missiles, not the cost of the damage they did.

There have been reports that nearly all the Tomahawks available were used. If that means the maximum number of 800, then the minimum cost using the lowest- cost missiles was $1.12 million. This information can be found online at www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/missiles/wep-toma.html and www.softwar.net/bgm109.html. Tomahawk cruise missiles are made by Ray-theon Corp.

War is a racket; the rich get a whole lot richer and the poor get taxed, poorer and dead.

Tabitha King

Bangor