[snakeoil]

http://www.defenseone.com/politics/2017 ... annelriver" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Previously unreported Pentagon data shows how much the average U.S. taxpayer has paid for combat operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Syria.

As of Monday, the average American taxpayer will have paid nearly $7,500 to fund the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria since the 9/11 attacks, according to previously unreported Pentagon budget data sent to Congress this summer.

This fiscal year, each U.S. taxpayers will pay about $289 for both wars, according to the Defense Department data. Next year — fiscal 2018 — that number would drop to $281 per taxpayer, if Congress were to pass the White House’s spending request unchanged, which won’t happen. And there’s another reason that number is likely to change: the Trump administration’s plan to send more American troops to Afghanistan.

Americans paid the most for the wars in 2010, an average of $767 apiece. The annual amount declined through 2016 to $204 per taxpayer, before growing again as the U.S. ramped up its airstrike campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

It might be wise to see just where we are now.

a. Iraq...After a tremendous loss of our brave military and our assets in this badly managed war Iraq is still unstable and Iraq is best buds with Iran; not one of our favorite nations.

b. Afghanistan...After 16 years of war at a huge cost in personnel and assets, we are about where we are when it started. If we leave we leave a shambles...if we stay we situation basically remains the same.

c. My personal opinion is that we should never taken an active part in this civil war but we should have picked a side and supported them.

[snakeoil]

C was supposed to be Syria.

[johnforbes]

Has there ever been a limited war which was successful?

In Vietnam, there was a hostile undefended 700-mile flank and the media outlets were shocked when even obvious logical steps such as invading Cambodian sanctuaries were taken.

In Afghanistan, we went in very light and sought in essence to outsource the war to folks such as the Northern Alliance.

In Desert Storm, the notion was that the Pentagon had learned the lessons of Vietnam and would go in heavy, with allies, win promptly, and leave.

This lesson seems to have been instantly forgotten with Iraq and Afghanistan.