The Congressional Budget Office says of the war in Iraq that "we are now spending on these activities more than 10 percent of all the government's annually appropriated funds." The CBO notes that $500 billion has already been spent on combat operations in Iraq, estimating, conservatively, a $1 trillion eventual cost for the war. Reporting this, the Boston Globe noted that "when Lawrence Lindsey, one of Bush's top budget advisers, estimated in 2003 that the entire undertaking could cost as much as $200 billion, he was fired." Additionally, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer claimed that Iraq would "shoulder much of the burden" for reconstruction, while Defense Department big-wig Paul Wolfowitz guessed that Iraq would "finance its own reconstruction." Should anyone be surprised that cavalier men, who recklessly launched a war of choice, would predict a short, inexpensive war and punish those who dissented?

Hey, the rest of the World is on U.S. welfare, why not Iraq? This $uck$!

I wonder what kind of border and port security can be bought with a trillion dollars?

Ralph,

Your comment makes me think as well that even if Iraq had been a tangible threat to us and had wmd's to distribute or use if they were so inclined then what sort of security enhancements could one trillion have gotten us on that score? Like you say border, ports, vital locales (nuclear reactors), but also international police operations and intel work.

Alienating basically the entire world w/ a war few backed us on is a real cost on top of the monetary figure. Think, e.g., of the way we regularly have to bribe countries (Turkey say) to support our initiatives at actual national security and so the added costs in doing so imposed by a despised war.

The costs are staggering really.

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