Iraq - a hope that it was worth it

"When McCrae finally answers, his voice is quiet. "Was it worth Erik's life to me? Of course not. Was it worth it as a matter of American interests, our security, a less radical Middle East? I think so. I hope so."

The above is from an Oregonian editorial Hopes and prayers for Iraq in which a father speaks about the loss of his son, an Oregon Guardsman, in the Iraq war. But even if one ascribes the most of altruist motives to the war there is little but hope and that is fruitless.

"More than 4,500 Americans died in the Iraq War and tens of thousands more suffered serious injuries. The death toll among Iraqis was much worse. The war dragged on nearly 10 years and cost the U.S. Treasury nearly $1 trillion."

There is nothing that can compensate for the human costs. And we are still in Afghanistan - why?