Since the Congressional Budget Office estimates the cost of current health care proposals, why shouldn't it also estimate the costs of Gen. Stanley McChrystal's military proposals? It would be enlightening if the CBO scored the costs of President Barack Obama's decision to send more troops to Afghanistan.

With an accurate database covering the past eight years of lives lost and lives injured in the Iraq war, the CBO could estimate the cost of sending 10,000, 20,000 or 40,000 new troops to Afghanistan. This analysis could quantify the number of soldiers who will die, as well as the number of soldiers who will be injured. CBO estimates could also identify the number of arms and the number of legs our troops will lose from roadside improvised explosive devices. The cost of prosthetic replacements, long-term physical rehabilitation and mental health counseling could also be factored into the report. We currently spend $4 billion a month for nation-building in Iraq; Afghanistan will likely demand similar U.S. expenditures.

After reading the CBO analysis, would any of us advocate the continuation of this exercise in Afghanistan?

Stephen Bonney

Holladay


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