The Cost of War

Here is an interesting table from a post by the U.S. Navy:

Military Costs of Major U.S. Wars

(Updated to Include Appropriations Enacted Through June 30, 2008)

	Years of War Spending	Peak Year of War Spending
	Total Military Cost of War in Millions/Billions of Dollars	War Cost % GDP in Peak Year of War	Total Defense % GDP in Peak Year of War
American Revolution Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1775-1783 101 million 1,825 million
		NA	NA
War of 1812 Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1812-1815 90 million 1,177 million	1813
		2.2%	2.7%
Mexican War Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1846-1849 71 million 1,801 million	1847
		1.4%	1.9%
Civil War: Union Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1861-1865 3,183 million 45,199 million	1865
		11.3%	11.7%
Civil War: Confederacy Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1861-1865 1,000 million 15,244 million
		NA	NA
Spanish American War Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1898-1899 283 million 6,848 million	1899
		1.1%	1.5%
World War I Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1917-1921 20 billion 253 billion	1919
		13.6%	14.1%
World War II Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1941-1945 296 billion 4,114 billion	1945
		35.8%	37.5%
Korea Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1950-1953 30 billion 320 billion	1952
		4.2%	13.2%
Vietnam Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1965-1975 111 billion 686 billion	1968
		2.3%	9.5%
Persian Gulf War /a/ Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	1990-1991 61 billion 96 billion	1991
		0.3%	4.6%
Iraq /b/ Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	2003-Present 616 billion 648 billion	2008
		1.0%	4.2%
Afghanistan/GWOT /b,c/ Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	2001-Present 159 billion 171 billion	2007
		0.3%	4.0%
Post-9/11 Domestic Security (Operation Noble Eagle) /b/ Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	2001-Present 28 billion 33 billion	2003
		0.1%	3.7%
Total Post-9/11--Iraq, Afghanistan/GWOT, ONE /d/ Current Year $ Constant FY2008$	2001-Present 809 billion 859 billion	2008
		1.2%	4.2%

I don't think a lot of people believe they got their "money's worth" by spending $648 billion (in 2008 dollars) for the Iraq War's part of the GWOT (Global War on Terror). It was a war of "choice". Saddam Hussein was already contained and had not part in the 9/11 attacks. This was purely a war to satisfy the cravings of the neocons to "reshape" the Middle East. Instead, they've managed to reshape America because they plunged the country into huge deficits just before th criminal greed of Wall Street plunged America into a financial meltdown. It is disaster piled on disaster. Nobody wanted that. But George Bush delivered!