Monday, April 21, 2008

Frustration with Google! [update]

I've been trying to find an on-line analysis on the direct economic impact of the 9/11 attacks.

The best I can find (suitably annotated) are three "google book" results, which show excerpts from the books in question & don't permit copy/paste.

Anyway, here are the books, if anyone wants to buy one of 'em:
Dealing with Terrorism: Stick Or Carrot? By Bruno S. Frey
Handbook of Defense Economics By Keith Hartley, Todd Sandler

... Great! ... now I can't find 3rd reference!
... anyway, the upper-end estimate for direct cost of 9/11 costs comes to about $100Bn, based on these sources. (There really were three sources - don't know what became of the third!)

[Update: I still can't find the 3rd "google book" reference, but did find a .pdf reference:
Calculating Tragedy: Assessing the Costs of Terrorism
Bruno S. Frey, Simon Luechinger and Alois Stutzer
This source puts total direct costs of 9/11 at about $60Bn. I'll continue to use the $100Bn figure for rhetorical purposes.]

What have been direct costs of Iraq fiasco?
From National Priorities Project (which tends to be the lowest of all estimates!):
$513,000,000,000
Yep - in DIRECT costs, the Iraq war has cost us more than one 9/11-scale attack per year since 2003!

The argument that they'll come after us here if we don't fight 'em there sort of goes up in smoke!

Note: I do not mean to be crass in assigning $$$ value to 9/11 - but $$$ seem to be 'currency' which W and his minions understand.

The "direct cost" method of comparison seems the fairest - we'd be paying for indirect costs - increased airport security, etc. - with or without Iraq war. Similarly, the projected ultimate cost of Iraq war (care for Veterans, long-term economic impact, etc.) don't figure in National Priorities Project numbers.

It would have been cheaper for bin Laden to launch a 9/11-equivalent attack on U.S. every year since we invaded Iraq than to have invaded Iraq!

[Note: if any of my readers can provide well-documented web-source for direct costs of 9/11, I'd appreciate it!]

Stop the madness!

2 comments: