On the recordJanuary 24, 2011
As we begin this great debate over what our priorities are, it's worth reflecting on an article that was written nearly 3 years ago in the Sunday Times of London by Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and his associate Linda Bilmes. Here is what they write: ``The Bush administration was wrong about the benefits of the war''-- talking about the Iraq war--``and was wrong about the costs of the war. The President and his advisers expected a quick, inexpensive conflict. Instead, we have a war that is costing more than anyone could have imagined. ``The cost of direct U.S. military operations--not even including long-term costs such as taking care of wounded veterans--already exceeds the cost of the 12-year war in Vietnam and is more than double the cost of the Korean War. ``And, even in the best case scenario, these costs are projected to be almost 10 times the cost of the first gulf war, almost a third more than the cost of the Vietnam war, and twice that of the First World War. The only war in our history that cost more was the Second World War, when 16.3 million U.S. troops fought in a campaign lasting 4 years, at a total cost, in 2007 dollars, after adjusting for inflation, of about $5 trillion.''
