The Costs Of War

4,500 members of the armed forces have been killed in IRAQ, 1500 members have lost their lives in Afghanistan, and the nation has spent at least $1.3 trillion we don't have.

Both wars were debt financed, with no taxes increased to pay for them.  Both wars were supposed to be short and low-cost.  Indeed IRAQ oil revenues were supposedly going to pay for our costs in IRAQ.

We now have been in Afghanistan a few months shy of 10 years and in IRAQ a few months more than 8 years.

As Secretary Gates said, IRAQ was a  war of choice. 

Afghanistan was not a war of choice, but it has been bungled, leading to a war three times longer than US involvement in World War II.

Had we stayed focused on Afghanistan, Bin Laden would have been dead years ago and we should have been out of Afghanistan years ago.