Eight Years of U.S. War in Afghanistan: The Dollars Add Up (PHOTOS)

will politicians and MSM turn the spotlight onto Iranian support against American troops on the battlefield in Afghanistan, or keep it hushed so that the hopes of "talks" with Iran might continue to have a glimmer of hope?

Editor: Scott, the U.S. invaded Iraq and Afghanistan and Iraq in particular had done nothing against us.  Do you really suspect that somebody in a neighboring Islamic country wouldn't toss some supplies and support their way?  Do you remember or know in the first place that these nations are not friends with one another?  They are traditional enemies.  That isn't the case as much in Afghanistan, but it still holds true.  Iran never attacked us, we blasted one of their airliners loaded with civilians out of the sky.  The U.S. and Britain were dogging Iran after WWII and not paying the full agreed upon price for oil.  Then they had their first democratically elected president take office, he threatened to nationalize Iran's oil (Imagine that, Iranians wanting control of their national resources)  We "took out" that president, took the Shah, put him in a CIA camp for nine months, and then reinstalled him as an American puppet leader, which ended with the Revolution of 1979.  The U.S. and the U.K. caused every bit of this.  But even beyond all of that, I know that if I were born there, I'd be fighting the occupation.  Anyone who wouldn't is less than a man.  I don't see anything there that I don't see within our own borders.  Maybe we need to concentrate on fixing our own country.  I think anyone who roots for war in Iran is a POS.  They are anti-American and into abusing American forces, already so damned tired from the needless wars we are already fighting.  But if Americans want WWIII and the end of the world as we know it, then they have a recipe; keep Fox News on where they lie and directly, specifically mistranslate statements like those of President Ahmadinejad.  Americans are treated by sheep.  

Has anyone taken the "normal" operating costs to keep our military functioning if not engaged in Iraq/Afghanistan and compare the two? Of course this would not include the horrible loss of life and the wounded, plus their ongoing costs way into the future? There are expentitures that are always going to be going on as well as loss of life, for example during training, even average mortality rates when you deal with millions of personnel. It seems to me that we need to enlarge our military forces and keep the state guard units here. Far better to have the better trained regular military involved in conflicts than these guard units who just don't have the time to get better trained. It would be a far more efficient way to use our resources.

the UN is useless when it comes to israel...it only goes to prove, that if the UN cannot handle israel, then the UN is worthless. On another note: how are all the obama supporters doing NOW??? yeesh

To all: Wasting wars have been death for so many governance systems over centuries that we once began a United Nations dedicated to cooperative efforts for all on rational, reasonable basis, with clear and certain representation to make it work out. WE in the U.S. have long allowed that effort to be frustrated and set to naught. Perhaps we should return to that fundamental cooperative principle, reflecting all we have learned in all those past centuries. Does any rational person now really question the basic and strongest possible motivating and activating principle for further progress of all the world's civilizations ??

... and yet if we do nothing or just "talk", which is an alternative, the war on the west will continue without our resistance.

It's time to get out of there.

The loss is not to the "US Govt" but rather to the American people as a whole. Think of what that kind of money could have done, directed in positive ways to society at large. The American people have been made into suckers and need to be jolted into awareness of the larger world.

To fully comprehend the dollar impact of this war, you must also factor in the billions of dollars incurred by other Nations in the coalition. Add to this the death toll of these other countries and you see that this has a far greater impact than just what the US Govt has lost.

Tim King: Thank you for pointing out that important information Mark.