NEW YORK — The withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq in what is euphemistically called the end of the Iraq war portends anything but the end of the conflict.
The consequences of the war will be felt for many years to come. Former President George W. Bush and his advisers are to blame for engaging in a war that has ravaged Iraq and cost the United States not only economically but also the lives and well-being of hundreds of thousands of its soldiers.
As of February 2010, approximately $700 billion had been spent on the war. This figure is based on current expenditure rates from figures compiled by the Congressional Research Service and estimates by Nobel Prize economist Joseph Stiglitz and Harvard University's Linda Bilmes. According to Stiglitz and Bilmes, the total cost of the Iraq war will probably exceed $3 trillion by moderate estimates.