What's The Real Price Tag On The War In Afghanistan?

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From The L.A. Times:

The casualties are sobering -- nearly 1,500 deaths to date among U.S. and coalition forces in Afghanistan.

So are the stakes -- the prospect of a Taliban resurgence that likely would reverse recent gains for women and girls and the destabilization of neighboring Pakistan, with its nuclear weapons and Al Qaeda cells.

But as President Obama weighs a decision on whether to deploy more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, a new front in the debate is emerging in Washington -- the financial costs.

Read more ....

My Comment: Instead of asking what's the real price tag on the war in Afghanistan .... we all know the price, and it is high .... one should be asking what will be the the price tag if there was no war in Afghanistan.

Al Qaeda and their allies .... if untouched .... have the potential to cause great destruction and loss of life. The cost of the terror attacks on 9/11 ranged from $100 billion to $2 trillion, and the killing of 3,000 citizens. Who is to say that if the next terror attack could be just as bad ... or worse.

This is why a new strategy is necessary .... and I can only presume that we will know what this new strategy is in the next few weeks.