We are engaged in two very serious wars – in Afghanistan and Iraq. There are daily battle deaths and wounds among our military men and women. Far less important, but shocking, there are also huge financial costs.
And yet if we or our loved ones are not personally engaged, we may have a tendency to pay too little attention to those wars.
But American deaths in Afghanistan are roughly 1,200. And U.S. deaths in Iraq have passed 4,400. There is still no end in sight in either conflict.
The “dollar costs” in Afghanistan and Iraq have exceeded $1 trillion. (In inflation-adjusted comparable dollars, U.S. World War II costs totaled about $4 trillion.)
Most Americans realize we can’t “turn loose” and surrender to our enemies in Iraq and Afghanistan without terrible consequences.
But most Americans also would have a difficult time trying to explain what our reasonable goals and expectations are, and what our timetable and prospects are for “success” or “victory.”