Iraq War's Total Cost Nearing Vietnam's Price Tag -- Al Qaeda's Cost To Start A War With The U.S. $500,000.

New York City, September 2001

From Yahoo News/AP:

WASHINGTON - The total cost of the Iraq war is approaching the Vietnam War's expense, a congressional report estimates, while spending for military operations after 9/11 has exceeded it.

The new report by the Congressional Research Service estimates the U.S. has spent $648 billion on Iraq war operations, putting it in range with the $686 billion, in 2008 dollars, spent on the Vietnam War, the second most expensive war behind World War II. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the U.S. has doled out almost $860 billion for military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere around the world.

All estimates, adjusted for inflation, are based on the costs of military operations and don't include expenses for veterans benefits, interest on war-related debts or assistance to war allies, according to the nonpartisan CRS.

Read more ....

More News -- Cost Of Iraq War

Report: Iraq war cost approaches total bill for Vietnam -- USA Today
Nobel laureate estimates wars' cost at more than $3 trillion -- A Drop In The Sea
How much has the Iraq war cost? July 2008 update -- Iraq Insider
Iraq War's Price Tag Nears Vietnam's -- CBS
Iraq war's total cost nearing Vietnam's price tag -- Seattle Times

My Comment: My figures are a bit different. My tab starts on September 11, 2001.

- Cost of 9/11 to New York City: $95 billion (CBS)
- Insurance, Airline losses, job dislocations, etc.: Amount is not known. (Center For Contemporary Conflict)
- U.S. recession of 2001 - 2002: Amount is not known.
- Aid to our allies because of 9/11 (i.e. Pakistan, Israel, etc.) ... Pakistan alone has received billions: Amount is not known.
- Costs on the economy of Iraq, Afghanistan, their neighbors: Amount is not known.

As you can tell, the total amount is probably closer to a trillion dollars ... if not more.

But here is an intriguing thought. If we accept the premise that 9/11 is that the event that pushed everything into motion .... (just as the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand pushed Europe into the First World War) ..... a push that resulted in the invasion of Afghanistan, fears of WMDs in the hands of terrorists, fears of Saddam Hussein that resulted in Gulf War II and the occupation of Iraq, an expansion of the conflict in Afghanistan that now involves Pakistan (a nuclear power with weapons that can fall into the wrong hands) ..... and only God knows what future conflicts or disasters may await for us around the corner ..... the question I have is how much did the execution of 9/11 cost.

What did it cost Al Qaeda to start all of this?

The answer is already known.

The cost to execute 9/11 by Al Qaeda has been estimated to be $400,000 to $500,000.

Ponder that.