The three trillion dollar war : the true cost of the Iraq conflict

The true cost of the Iraq War is $3 trillion—and counting—rather than the $50 billion projected by the White House. Apart from its tragic human toll, the Iraq War will be staggeringly expensive in financial terms. This sobering study by Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda J. Bilmes casts a spotlight on expense items that have been hidden from the U.S. taxpayer, including not only big-ticket items like replacing military equipment (being used up at six times the peacetime rate) but also the cost of caring for thousands of wounded veterans—for the rest of their lives. Shifting to a global focus, the authors investigate the cost in lives and economic damage within Iraq and the region. Finally, with the chilling precision of an actuary, the authors measure what the U.S. taxpayer's money would have produced if instead it had been invested in the further growth of the U.S. economy. Written in language as simple as the details are disturbing, this book will forever change the way we think about the war.

"This is a catalog [of costs] the Bush team never looked at. It's a catalog that they still don't want you to see."—James Galbraith

America has already spent close to a trillion dollars on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but there are hundreds of billions of bills still due—including staggering costs to take care of the thousands of injured veterans, providing them with disability benefits and health care. In this sobering study, Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard University's Linda J. Bilmes reveal a wide range of costs that have been hidden from U.S. taxpayers and left out of the debate about our involvement in Iraq. That involvement, the authors conservatively estimate, will cost us more than $3 trillion.

"Stiglitz and Bilmes have clearly demonstrated the need for Congress and the administration to ensure that those making sacrifices today will see those sacrifices honored in the future."—Dave W. Gorman, executive director, Disabled American Veterans

Nobel Prize winner Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda J. Bilmes cast a spotlight on expense items that have been hidden from the U.S. taxpayer, including not only big-ticket items like replacing military equipment (being used up at six times the peacetime rate) but also the cost of caring for thousands of wounded veterans--for the rest of their lives. Shifting to a global focus, the authors investigate the cost in lives and economic damage within Iraq and the region. Finally, with the chilling precision of an actuary, the authors measure what the U.S. taxpayer's money would have produced if instead it had been invested in the further growth of the U.S. economy. -- From amazon.com Is it really three trillion? The costs to the nation's budget The true cost of caring for our veterans Costs of war that the government doesn't pay The macroeconomic effects of the war Global consequences Exiting Iraq Learning from our mistakes : reforms for the future Afterword Appendices: President's letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives on the Emergency Appropriations Act Evolving DOD Web sites for Operation Iraqi Freedom On methodologies. 'The Three Trillion Dollar War' is a devastating reckoning of the true cost of the Iraq war -- quite apart from its tragic human toll -- which the Bush administration has estimated at 50 billion [dollars], but which Stiglitz and Bilmes shows underestimates the real figure by approximately six times. Exposes the expenses of the Iraq war, which have not been officially accounted for, including not only big ticket items like replacing military equipment (being used up at six times the peacetime rate) but also the cost of caring for thousands of wounded veterans - for the rest of their lives. Is it really three trillion? The costs to the nation's budget The true cost of caring for our veterans Costs of the war that the government doesn't pay The macroeconomic effects of the war Global consequences Exiting Iraq Learning from our mistakes : reforms for the future. Reveals massive expenses associated with the Iraq War in a cautionary account that evaluates the war's long-term costs, both financial and human, as well as their consequences to taxpayers A New York Times Bestseller "This is a catalog [of costs] the Bush team never looked at. It's a catalog that they still don't want you to see."-James Galbraith