Iraq: More costly than 'War to end all wars.'

That is, of course, the unfortunate subtitle to World War I, which turned out to be "the war that guaranteed another World War." Putting that aside, it was reported today in the Christian Science Monitor that our efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq have amounted to the fourth costliest war effort in US history (yes, that's in inflation-adjusted dollars).

World War II was the most expensive by far-- and justifiably so. Looking at the next most expensive, Vietnam and Korea, it's readily apparent that war is becoming more expensive and inefficient (pardon my pragmatism) in spite of technological advances. We've deployed a relatively small number of troops in the two Middle Eastern countries, and gained control of central government, as it was, in a remarkably short time. But we've also spent a very short time there, yet find ourselves faced with the restoration of two despotic theocracies. Control slips away daily, even as the administration insists that we're doing remarkably well, that Americans are solidly behind the war, and that-- as always-- we're making some sort of phantasmagoric, indefinable "progress."

Stay the course, citizens!