Back at the gym

I went back to the gym today for the first time in over a week. On Tuesday I like to read the New York Times science section. As I rode the recumbant bike, I read the rest of the paper. On the editorial page, I found an article about the cost of the War in Iraq by Nicholas Kristof.
Having been a student and teacher of history, I am well aware of the strange and unplanned results of war. When the nations of Europe went into World War I, not a single person, especially the governmental leaders and crowned rulers expected that the results of that war would be an almost complete change of government in Europe, and an end of the multinational empires. The most surprising and unexpected result was the establishment of the Soviet Union under a communist government.
The results of this war in Iraq will be unenexpected and unplanned. One point that Kristof makes is that the war costs American taxpayers $6,300 a second, or about $6,600 per each American man, woman and child. His point is that the money could be better spend here in the USA, perhaps on social security, health care and other worthwhile efforts. We already are experiencing the unplanned results--the rise of sectarian violence and an increase in terrorist activity in Iraq and the middle east. Who knows what the long term results will be. All I know from my knowledge of the past is that they will be something that no one expected or planned for. To read the complete essay, I have included a link for you. "Iraq and Your Wallet" http://nytimes.com