The three trillion dollar war

Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz and Harvard professor Linda J. Bilmes examine the full financial impact of the Iraq War, including direct costs, long-term veteran care, interest on borrowed funds, and macroeconomic effects like rising oil prices.

The book highlights how costs were hidden from taxpayers, funded through borrowing, and contrasts initial Bush administration estimates of $50 billion with their $3 trillion projection, potentially rising higher with interest.

It underscores opportunity costs and critiques inadequate oversight.