What did those wars cost? What did they accomplish?

[pennyw]

Some 6,500 U.S. dead, 40,000 wounded, $1 to $2 trillion sunk. Tens of thousands of Afghan and 100,000 Iraqi dead, with widows and orphans numbering over 500,000. Half the Christians of Iraq have fled their homes, and half of these have fled the country in which their ancestors had lived almost since the time of Christ.

What exactly have we gained from 30 years of interventions in the Middle East -- that China lost out on by staying out?

Has the Day of the Islamist Arrived? - Pat Buchanan - Page 2