The Nation: Cost of War

Cost at War To attempt to measure the costs of war is to handle the quicksilver of suffering with clumsy fingers. Although much of the toll is beyond quantifying, some reckoning is possible. The Library of Congress has just completed a study for the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that provides a partial accounting of Viet Nam expenditures.

Only World War II cost the U.S. more in money; Viet Nam has cost $490 for every American man, woman and child. Since major U.S. intervention began in 1965, 5.5 million tons of bombs, rockets and cannon shells have been dropped...

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