Part 3/11:
Iraq War (2003): Originally estimated at $55 billion, the costs ballooned to $4 trillion, with over 4,500 American deaths and 32,000 wounded soldiers.
Afghanistan: Cost around $2.3 trillion, with 2,400 U.S. deaths and 20,000 wounded.
Consequences: These interventions left nations destabilized, empowered Iran indirectly, and produced regimes marked by chaos and oppression.
By analogy, attacking Iran—which possesses a vastly larger population, economy, and military—would exponentially increase risks. Iran's military and technological capacity far surpasses Iraq and Afghanistan, with:
- Population: Approximately 90 million—over three times larger than Iraq or Afghanistan.