Book of the Week

The Three Trillion Dollar War

If you are keen to find out how much the Iraq war cost, then this book is worth reading.

It may serve as a tutorial on the current operational readiness of the Armed Forces of the United States.  It gives us an insight into just how much it takes to fund a war, and the information written in this book is extremely valuable if a legitimate war is to be fought in the future.  Every American perhaps has realised by now how they got hoodwinked with the true cost of the Iraq war despite the estimation of the Bush administration at $50 billion.  Here Stiglitz and Bilmes expose the gigantic expenses which have not so far been officially accounted for, including not only the conventional items like replacing the military equipment but also the staggering cost of caring for thousands of wounded veterans for the rest of their lives.  The numbers presented in this book are mind boggling.  How is it being accounted for?.  It just amazes me how the accounting tricks were used to hide certain expenses so that true cost could never be accurately traced.

28 March 2008