Paul Kawika Martin, Political and Policy Director for Peace Action, said:

I think the question should be:  How much U.S. credit should we use on the war in Afghanistan? As it stands, the over $230 Billion we have already spent has mostly been borrowed money adding to the U.S. deficit.  Of course, just like buying a car or home, sometimes it's good to do things on credit.  But this isn't the true cost.  As Noble Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda Bilmes points out, that figure fails to include interest on debt, veterans benefits and other costs to society.  They estimate the costs for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could top a staggering $5 trillion to $7 trillion.

Phi Beta Iota: Other “pundits” can be read within the full story.  The cost is far more than the “tangible debt.”  It includes the hollowing out of America–the loss of integrity, the failure of paradigms, the cheating culture, and on and on and on.  We have in essence sacrified the Republic in the name of partisan politics and corporate greed, enabled by civitas minimus.  America is less safe and less prosperous today than it was on 9/12.