The dollar cost of our war in Iraq and Afghanistan comes to $12 billion a month, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. So far, the total cost comes to $610 billion. The cost for Iraq alone is half-a-trillion dollars.

If we were to add the cost of human lives, of course, the sum would be much greater. But in times of war, lives of GIs are not counted because they cannot be described in dollars and cents.

A simple query: Has our multi-billion-dollar expenditure in this war been worthwhile? Afghanistan is still dominated by its warlords. In the case of Iraq, we have not even been able to enjoy access to its rich oil potential. So far, our major role in Iraq has been to spread endless chaos.

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Just think for the moment that the multi-billions we have spent on war were available for schools, health services, subsidized housing for the poor. Put plainly, our ventures in Afghanistan and Iraq were — still are — carried on at the expense of our nation’s neediest families.

But not all Americans are suffering financially because of our ventures in the Mideast. Every war we have ever been in has produced its well-named Daddy Warbucks. The perfect candidate in our current war is our Vice President Dick Cheney whose firm Halliburton has been the recipient of billions in war-connected contracts — contracts that were awarded without competitive bidding.

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